As a continued effort to develop Uganda’s tourism sector to the heights, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities has launched the first electronic permitting system to regulate trade in wildlife as well as wildlife products in the country.
The electronic permit system has been established under the theme “Strengthening Sustainable Wildlife Trade Regulation” and aims to control legal trade in wildlife and prevent illegal specimen trade.
This is accomplished through electronic permits and licenses for trade (import, export, and re-export) in specimens. These specimens are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Uganda now becomes the first country in East Africa and the 8th on the African continent to develop an electronic CITES permit system.
The development of the electronic permitting system has been funded by the American people under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Uganda Combating Wildlife Crime (CWC) program through the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities.
The launch was moderated by Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, PhD, Commissioner of Wildlife Conservation and Acting Director of the Ministry of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA), in a hybrid online and physical format. In attendance were the Minister of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities, Honorable Tom Butime, who presided over the launch; his Permanent Secretary, Doreen Katusiime; United States Ambassador to Uganda, Ambassador Natalie E. Brown; and Head of the European Delegation in Uganda, Ambassador Attilio Pacifici. Haruko Okusu, Head of the Project, was able to represent the CITES Secretariat virtually.
Until now, Uganda like many other countries has been using a paper-based system of certification and permit issuance, which can be prone to forgeries, takes more time to process and verify, and in the advent of COVID-19, movement of documents may be a risk for disease transmission.
With the electronic system, various CITES focal points and law enforcement agencies can instantly verify a permit and share real-time information on wildlife trade. This will prevent illegal wildlife trade that threatens populations of some of the most iconic wildlife species like elephants, thereby undermining Uganda’s tourism revenue and national security.
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