Uganda – Zikulabe Isaac is a local farmer who owns a 3-acre onion, cotton, and coffee farm that shares the park’s fence. They used to sleep outside their homes guarding the crops against game before it was built in 2018, unsure of their harvests, but now he can bank on predictable profits from his produce. “It’s as though we’re not even close to the park. With this electrified fence, the government-aided us. They flee when these wild animals try to penetrate our gardens.”
With an increasing population and encroachment into gazetted conservation zones, the border is being stretched farther, leaving wild creatures with very limited space to dwell.
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“Right now, we’re heading for the DRC border. And once this is completed, the issue of crop raiding in these areas will be effectively addressed. OMITTED As a result, we see this as a huge chance for positive coexistence between the people and the park,” says Pontius Ezuma, the Queen Elizabeth conservation area’s chief warden.
Human-wildlife contact has been limited, particularly with elephants, since the effort began three years ago. Space for Giants came up with the idea to separate the habitats and worked with the Uganda Wildlife Authority to build the fence. “This electric fence may be the answer to crop raids and poaching for the time being, but animals with intelligence are already learning how to get around the boundary, implying that the government must constantly consider new ways to protect crops, wildlife, and humans.
