The Kazinga Channel is one of the most popular tourist
destinations within the Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda. Here the Uganda Wildlife Authority takes tourists
on a 2 hour boat cruise up and down the channel that connects Lake Edward and
Lake George. On the shore it is common
to see dozens of Hippos and Buffaloes, both in the water and on the
shoreline. In addition, there are many
elephants that come from within the park to seek the cool waters of the
channel. Crocodiles and even the odd
lion can be spotted amongst the larger mammals.
On the shore of the channel there is a settlement of over
1,000 people, mainly fishermen and their families; it is aptly named Kazinga
Fishing Village. As you pass the village
in the launch, you will see many wooden fishing boats tied up neatly along the
shoreline. Having such a community
within the Park environment is complicated both for the Park officials and the
villagers; as such, there are special regulations for these residents due to
their location in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
For instance, in order to process their catch and sustain
their livelihood, they require a sustainable source of fuel. The park rules are clear that they, like
anyone else, is not permitted to chop down trees within the park, so all the
firewood for this village must come from outside the park. Additionally, as the animals in the park have
priority over the humans, fishing in the channel is not allowed. You will see a constant stream of these
wooden fishing boats leaving the shores of the channel and heading out to the
Lake to fish.
Safety and security of the village population is a major
concern for both the villagers and the park officials. There are two major sources of danger for the
fishing community. The first is the
weather conditions; small wooden boats on a large lake can be extremely
dangerous when the weather conditions change without warning. Secondly, and probably even less predictable
is the proximity to dangerous predators.
There have been a number of
deaths of villagers over the years from invading hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles
and lions. On one occasion a few years
ago, a single lion entered the village and killed 13 people. Officially, the villagers are not permitted
to kill these animals, unless, of course, they are under attack.
On a daily basis, the women in the community come to the
shoreline of the Channel to fetch water and even wash their clothes in the
water. There have been so many
accidents, particularly with the crocodiles, that the park officials, erected
wire mesh fences in the water to create “safe areas” for water access. Despite this, one can see children and young
adults swimming at random spots along the shore – spots that have no such
protection, thus exposing themselves to the wildlife that is nearby.
The fish-trading process is quite organized. The fishermen return mid-morning with their
catch of mainly tilapia, but also some bagrus, protopterus and clarias. After taking the fish off the boats to the
weighing station for size inspection and cleaning, there is a type of simple
auction process where the fish are sold to groups of traders that come daily to
purchase the morning catch, load them on their vehicles and take them to local
markets outside the park to sell to consumers.
Most male adult residents in the Kazinga Fishing Village are
engaged in fishing; the others are mostly in related occupations such as boat
repairs, fishing-net repairs, and portering fish and
water from the shoreline to the village.
The women are caring for the children, preparing food and other
household related tasks. Some of the
children are attending school, but many are unable because of the shortage of
money to pay the school fees required.
Jewel Safaris takes many tourists to the Kazinga Channel and
it tries to incorporate into their itineraries visits to such communities as
the Kazinga Fishing Village to give visitors to Uganda the opportunity to be introduced
to local people and their challenges.
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