As foreseen by Doctor Jane Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist from Jane Goodall Institute in Lubowa, Chimpazees stand a great tourism base more like gorilla trekking in Uganda.
She advises, there’s a lot of un-utilized capacity with Chimpanzee species yet the country could earn good dollars from Tourists.
In the year 2002, the country had upto 5,000 chimpazees according to case study coupled with sensitive chimpanzee and successful tourism campaigns like ‘’Tourism begins with preserving the wild chimpazees’ environment’’
Programmes Director at the Institute, Dr Peter Apell, maintains that ‘’The major threat to Chimpazees’ survival in Uganda is encroachment of the primate natural habitat by way of destroying forests which is their home something that persuades them end up in communities where they either clash with residents or end up injured.
.‘’Communities can both survive without crossing each other’s path. “First we must realise they are part of our heritage and we have a collective duty as a community to protect them. And this is part of the message we are trying to inculcate.” Says Dr Apell.
However, Goodall asks communities in Uganda and Africa at large to develop nature-friendly tourism programmes saying it’s the only way that will enable tap into lucrative wildlife resource.
The institute strives to reverse population of great apes which had declined and also preserve their habitats.
