Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), in conjunction with Wild Aid, awarded journalists for their noticeable role in wildlife conservation.
At the event held on Wednesday, 16th October, at Protea Hotel, Journalists were awarded through the inaugural Uganda Conservation Media Awards, which aim to encourage, motivate, and inspire to produce the best in conservation reporting.
In this second edition, over 10 journalists were recognized for their exceptional reporting on wildlife conservation under several categories, including community conservation, wildlife crime, wildlife protection, habitats, and environment among others.
Speaking at the awarding ceremony, the Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Martin Mugarra Bahinduka, acknowledged all participants of this year’s edition together with the sponsors of this great initiative, including UWA and Wild Aid.
“I encourage whoever didn’t win, please continue. We still appreciate your efforts, and my prayer is that this grows; I wish this number goes to 300 and also see other people like musicians and comedians, among others, who are not into conservation, attempting to write and compete,” he added.
Hon. Mugarra also lauds the journalists for the continuous sharing of conservation messages not only through their respective media houses but also on personal social media handles, saying, “Whenever we have an opportunity, let’s use it to share a continued discussing, talking and creating awareness about wildlife conservation.”
Prof. James Kalema, the chairman of the Board of Trustees – at UWA, emphasized the essential role that the media plays in driving the conservation agenda and narrative in the country.
“The UWA Board of Trustees appreciates the media’s power to inform, educate, and inspire action. Dear our journalists, your work is indispensable. Your reporting raises awareness of critical conservation issues and helps mobilize public and
policy support. Through your stories, documentaries, and magazine, you bring to life the realities of human-wildlife conflict, poaching, habitat destruction, and the tireless efforts of communities and conservationists to protect these resources. Your ability to inform the public and inspire action is crucial to building a collective responsibility for Uganda’s
wildlife conservation,” he said.
In addition, Kalema highlighted that UWA’s mission is to conserve Uganda’s wildlife and protected areas for the benefit of people in the present and future generations, which requires strong partnerships with communities, conservation organizations, development partners, government, and of course, the media, and they promised to deepen this partnership because the media plays a great role in amplifying their
conservation efforts.
“We face significant conservation challenges such as climate change, habitat degradation, illegal wildlife trade, and growing pressures on wildlife habitats. But with collaboration, determination, and the media’s powerful role in bringing to light these issues, I believe we can overcome them. The media is vital in driving the momentum needed for effective conservation action,” the UWA Board chairman noted.
Robertson Maz, the Wild Aid Representative – East Africa, said that it was an extremely competitive field of entries, and in some cases, it was really hard to decide on a single winner and therefore appreciated everyone who took part as well as congratulated the winners.
Bashir Hangi, Manager of Communication and Public Relations – at UWA, remarked that the awards are embedded in a vision of taking nature to the fore, saying, “The vision of recognizing outstanding journalists for their dedication to conservation reporting was born out of a deep-seated passion for the natural world.
“We pay tribute to all the journalists who took time and submitted entries. We see a future where conservation issues will take their rightful place in the minds of all Ugandans,” he added.
The eventual winning entries tackled a broad range of important conservation, wildlife, and environment issues, reflecting the many conservation challenges Uganda faces but also telling the stories of the passionate and dedicated people working across the country to overcome them.
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