Government moves to protect shoebills
Officials from Uganda Wildlife Authority recover two shoebills from Kamurojo village, Kyere Sub-County in Serere District. PHOTO BY RICHARD OTIM
The government through the Ministry of Tourism, wildlife and Antiquities has come up with a number of strategies and measures to improve the tourism sector and conservation. One of the measures is formulating a national action plan to conserve the Shoebill.
“The shoebill is one of those birds that is threatened with extinction in Uganda. We made this commitment under the convention on migratory species and that output will enable us implement some of our international agreements,” James Lutalo, the director, tourism in the ministry of Tourism, said during the Tourism Annual sector review conference in Kampala.
The shoebill derives its name from its massive shoe-shaped bill and lives in tropical East Africa in large swamps. According to the executive director, Nature Uganda, Achilles Byaruhanga, the shoebill is endemic to Sub-saharan Africa and endemic to swamps.
The birds are said to be in Zambia, Uganda, DR Congo, Tanzania, and Sudan.
Their numbers globally are said to be drastically reducing due to increased habitat loss. “Globally we have an estimated 6,000 birds remaining,” Byaruhanga says.
He expresses fear that this number could actually go lower by the next assessment due January next year.
Out of the 6,000 shoebills, Byaruhanga says Uganda has only 300 birds. It is assumed that the bigger numbers of these birds are in Suds swamp in South Sudan, but because of conflict and insecurity in these areas, proper assessment of the birds numbers has not be possible.
There are some few in Tanzania and Zambia and there are also some few on the DR Congo side of Lake Albert.
In Uganda they can be found in Murchison Falls National Park, Mabamba Weltands in Mpigi, Rutembe Bay, Lake Opeta - Bisina in Katakwi and around the Kyoga basin.
Getting rare
Although these birds have for long lived at Opeta, recently, tourists who have travelled to this remote tourist destination to watch them are said to have left disappointed.
Patrick Elungat Icodo, a tour guide at Opeta Shoebill watching site, said the birds are a rare sight compared to some years ago raising fears that they could be getting extinct.
“Because they exclusively live, breed and feed in wetlands, if you destroy wetlands then the birds will be gone,” Byaruhanga notes.
The second challenge which has become a major problem is wildlife trade where some people are picking them up and taking them to various areas such as private zoos with a number of them intercepted at the airport.
The third challenge is that many of the wetlands in Uganda are not protected leaving these birds exposed to persecution.
Byaruhanga, however, says in collaboration with the ministry of Tourism, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Nature Uganda has tried to identify important bird areas where the shoebills are found and raised status of other wetlands to another level of Ramsar Sites.
A Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
The Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO, and provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources.
Byaruhanga says the national action plan is big recognition of the importance of the birds and will go a long way in guiding all sectors of government in the conservation of the shoebills.
Meanwhile, the executive director of Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe, James Musinguzi, also hails government for the action plan noting that it will further boost the bird’s preservation. The centre has six shoebills.
“This bird has a high conservation importance and tourist importance and will be able to bring us many birders from across the world to come and see it which will help improve the tourism of the country,” Musinguzi said.
He adds that the plan would include education, habitat preservation by rallying support of all stakeholders to come together to implement the action plan.
Shoebill food
Shoebills are largely piscivorous (animals that feed on fish) but are assured predators of a considerable range of wetland vertebrates.
Preferred prey species have reportedly included marbled lungfish as well as various Tilapia species and catfish. Other prey eaten by this species includes frogs, water snakes and baby
crocodiles.
