The Ugandan government’s decision to turn the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest into a National Park to protect the rare lowland gorillas resulted in the displacement of the Batwa People, and left the forest dwelling Pygmy tribes without a home.

Even though I acknowledge that this is a complicated issue that I have conflicted feelings about, I do want to point out that money was undeniably a factor in this deliberation.

Although both the Pygmies and the gorillas have long since been indigenous residents of the Forest, the gorillas represent a considerable economic potential for Uganda, whereas the Batwa Peoples do not.

The gorillas are a significant source of income from tourism, as naturalists and photographers alike journey from all over the world to track and observe them in their “natural habitat.”

I put the former in quotation marks because the gorilla’s heretofore “natural” state of existence was subsisting side by side, in a state of equilibrium, with the other human residents of the Forest— the Pygmies. By protecting the gorilla’s environment through the forcible eviction of the Batwa Pygmies, an imbalance was created that did not exist previously.

With no easy solution in sight, it is easy to see why this complex issue leaves many Ugandans feeling conflicted and perplexed.

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Read about what all is involved to reach the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest – as well as actually trekking, tracking, and photographing the gorillas in the jungle –HERE!