FILMING THE HOME OF BUFFALOS, KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
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| A family of Buffalos in Kidepo National Park - PHOTO - Robert Nkambo |
Mediavision Academy crew, the Cross Cultural Foundation Uganda (CCFU) and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) spent the bigger part of Friday filming inside Kidepo Valley National Park. Our aim is to document the benefits of this Park to the communities living around it. This is my first visit to Kidepo but its by far having the most spectacular landscape of all the parks I have visited. According to the information I gathered from the people around, this park has the biggest Buffalo population in Africa. Other wild animals like lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras and elephants are also in plenty. Despite the spectacular landscape and wildlife, the park is receiving low tourist numbers compared to other parks in Uganda. This is believed to be due to the different episodes of insecurity that have rocked the region over time. Interestingly, government has undertaken different strategies like the disarmament of the communities to ensure security.
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| The Cameraman filming inside the park |
We had an interesting experience shooting inside the park but realised that it required more gear. A telephoto lens of about 500mm focal length is must because the cinematographer can't get so close to the animals. Also the speed of setting up the camera when filming under such environments needs to be increased. Some animals are very shy and will run away if they see new people in their territory doing something they don't understand. Also some animals can attack the cameraman for various reasons.
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| Filming from inside the vehicle - PHOTO, Robert Nkambo |
I held an interview with the Chief Warden, Muhabwe Richard at his officer to understand the relationship between the park and communities around it. He revealed that UWA is working hand in hand with some of these communities to conserve the park and the environment around it. In particular these are communities that depended on the park for survival. They are encouraged to practice improved farming methods, plant trees and resent poaching. One of the biggest challenges faced by this initiative is the human wildlife conflict. Some animals cross over to the peoples farms and destroy their crops. The story is much bigger than what I can share with you here but a lot is being done by UWA to create harmony. Most of these communities once lived in the park with the animals and regard it as their home. Their culture is linked to the park but were evicted by government of Uganda to protect the wildlife. The communities once enjoyed the sites inside the park to define their heritage can't be accessed freely. They were resettled on land around the park and forced to lead a different life. The CCFU has conducted a research establish the extent to which this eviction is affecting their heritage and identify. To supplement the findings of this research, CCFU partnered with Mediavision Academy to document that information in a film that will be launched in November this 2023. Kudos CCFU, UWA and Mediavision Academy.
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