Crest Tanks Limited, a manufacturing company donated ten (10) dustbins to Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC), commonly referred to as Entebbe Zoo, to boast the Centre’s Waste Management program.
Handing over the trash bins worth shs5m to the UWEC Executive Director, Dr. James Musinguzi, the General Manager Crest Tanks Limited, Ajay Jain said, the company’s vision is to enhance people’s lives by enabling every household to access clean water, food production security, renewable energy and practice safe sanitation.
They thus, saw it important to extend a hand to the Centre whose core mandate is to educate the masses about conservation.
“UWEC teaches the best conservation practices, especially to the young generation and one of the best practice is waste management to preserve the environment which is a habitat for wildlife. So we initiate partnerships to push this campaign of waste management and attract schools to these practices,” Jain remarked.
Dr. Musinguzi lauded Crest tanks limited for the gesture which he said, came at the right time as the Centre deepens its roots into Green tourism, with proper waste management being top on the agenda.
The Centre receives over 400,000 visitors annually and a daily average of 1,000 visitors, who travel with packed food and plastic sodas plus water. This, in many cases turn out to be waste at the destination, warranting a proper plan to support sustainable tourism at the Centre.
The months between June and October are the Centre’s peak seasons where mainly schools and institutions visit for the different Conservation Education programs like; thematic guided tours for Biology and Geography, research and internship and for fun, before they finally settle for their National Examinations that normally run between October and November.
“In addition to the waste management program, as a vehicle to effect Green tourism, this financial year we are set to begin plans of opening up other sister zoos in other parts of the country starting with Mbale, to reduce on the high numbers of schools coming to the Centre. This will reduce on the pressure alongside other advantages,” Musinguzi added.
During this year’s Pearl Of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) that brought different stakeholders beyond the African continent at the Common Wealth Resort Hotel in Munyonyo, the Chief Executive Officer for Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) Lilly Ajarova noted that, Tourism is a threat to the environment if not well managed.
She thus called on all players in the tourism sector to prioritize environmental protection, owing to the fact that Uganda’s tourism is mainly nature-based. The United Nations World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as tourism that takes into full account its current and future economic, social, and environmental impact, addressing the needs of visitors, industry players, the environment, and host communities.
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