Batwa and Bwindi Forest Today

Collaborative Resource Management (CRM) is Uganda Wildlife Authority's mechanism for giving adjacent communities limited, regulated access to resources within protected area boundaries. It began in Bwindi in the early 1990s — ironically, at the same time the Batwa were being evicted — as a way to reduce illegal resource extraction by providing a legal channel for it.

Under CRM, community members organize into resource user groups, negotiate a formal agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) with UWA that specifies what resources they can access, where, when, and how much. The community governs itself through an elected executive committee of around 9 members. For groups where Batwa are present, the MoU requires at least two Batwa representatives (one male, one female) on the committee.

Access is always accompanied. Community members entering the park for CRM purposes must be with UWA staff, both for safety and to monitor compliance. This is a significant practical limitation — a Batwa woman who needs medicinal plants for a sick child cannot simply enter the forest as her grandmother could. She must schedule access, join a group, and be escorted.