Preview Issue - Field Report

Conservation Education and the Attitudes of Local Communities Living Adjacent to Mt. Elgon National Park, Uganda
Joseph Oonyu, Makerere University, Uganda

A study of attitudes involving 1,243 people living around Mt. Elgon National Park showed that more than three-quarters of the respondents had favorable attitudes towards the conservation of the park’s forest and wildlife resources. They also held favorable attitudes towards ongoing conservation education programs, particularly those of the Mt. Elgon Conservation and Development Project.

People’s attitudes varied from one community to another and were influenced by the perceived benefits of conservation to local people, exposure to conservation education programs, conflicts over the use of the park’s resources, and socioeconomic factors. People’s current positive attitudes could change due to increasing pressure for resources from the rapidly expanding human and livestock populations, and also if conservation education is not intensified.