The over 6,200 landless Batwa pygmies, a forest-dwelling group of over hunter-gatherers in southwestern Uganda, are a perfect example of conservation refugees.
They were displaced from their lands in Echuya, Mugahinga, and Bwindi Impenetrable forests in southwestern Uganda in 1991 to pave way for the creation of protected areas to conserve the engendered Mountain Gorillas.
For the last two decades, these displaced Batwa pygmies have been advocating for their rights to live, grow, hunt, and gather in the protected forests but government and conservations insist that humans including Batwa and Gorillas’ homes are incompatible.
The remaining about 1000 mountain gorillas live in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This Big Gorilla Story was made in partnership with the Pulitzer rainforest fund.
Watch the complete report by Apes Reporting Project by clicking on the Video above.
