The Genesis of national parks

Series I: How it all started, not always USA

Imagine a time when there were no Game Reserves or National Parks, no distinctive habitats for man, animals, and nature in general, no boundaries at all, everyone living where they felt safe from the other, everyone in the wild; survival for the fittest or simply put – no clear distinction between the wild and the domesticated.

In this story we breakdown the several reasons that led to the establishment of National parks among which include, Agriculture and its expansion, industrialization, religious reasons and scientific research.

With the quick spread of Industrialization that started with Great Britain in the late 1700s and early 1800s and the agricultural expansion, a nature conservation movement was birthed in the USA inspired by the desire to preserve the wonder of nature in its form, not only for the future generations but also for relaxation away from the bustling and noise of cities that had already started to take form. This movement was further fueled by the beautiful and well written articles & publications that improved the population’s awareness of the beauty of nature, thanks to Writers like George Catlin, John Wesley Powell and Clarence King, John Muir who are notable among those that brought about this awareness.

Many believed and thought that the very first National Park to be established was in USA. Yellowstone National Park was founded in 1872 by the United States congress and placed under the care of the state of California, with the aim of protecting this Geothermal area containing about half the world’s active Geysers from private development.

However, before its establishment, there existed other protected areas and nature reserves in USA like Hot Springs in Arkansas, established as a National Reserve in 1832 to protect the thermal hot springs and later declared a National Park in 1921; Yosemite which became a State Park in 1864 and a National Park in 1890, saving the magnificent granite formations (rocks), the tallest water falls in the world, breath taking canyons, and the beautiful meadow surroundings.

Series II: The Real Story

As you move away from the United States of America, the story changes. Some believe that Bogd Khan established by the Mongolian government in 1778 was the very first National Park: and Main Ridge Forest Reserve established in 1776 in Trinidad and Tobago as the first ever idea of a nature reserve.

Main Ridge Forest Reserve was established for purposes of attracting rainfall showers, so much driven by the efforts of Hon. Soame Jenyns, who was by then a commissioner of the Board of Trade and Member of House of Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. He had been inspired by the work of a British physiologist Stephen Hales on plant physiology and transpiration, and it took him 11years to convince the British Parliament of the importance of this establishment. On 13^th of April 1776, the Parliament passed an ordinance which established the reserve.

The idea of protected areas, fully conceived in the 19^th century, was to keep nature safe from man and preserve it for future generations. However, over time, this evolved as National parks and reserves slowly became tourist attractions boosting the economy of many countries starting in 1970s. This saw the expansion of protected areas in the world reach 15% by 2015.

Before 1949, Europe had for centuries, maintained hunting grounds for royals and nobles. However, in this year, Great Britain established an administrative structure that saw hunting grounds turn into National Parks and Nature Reserves. This was followed by the effort to influence the establishment of same in European colonies Worldwide. The establishment of National parks in Europe was caused by the growing appreciation of human outdoor activities and the benefits of physical exercises which caused more people to escape from towns and cities for a view of the wild. This routine movement from cities was a response to the ever-growing industrialization, the expansion of towns and cities and the ongoing enclosure of land by landowners for farming or sporting reasons. Stay tuned……….

Series III: The African Way Vs. the Colonial Idea of Nature Preservation

In Africa, preservation of nature was indirectly the responsibility of every community member. Communities had extensive knowledge about the wild and a deep connection to nature through social and religious values. These values included the Totem & Taboo system, demarcation of sacred areas, which were mostly wet lands, enormous tress, caves, mountains. For instance, Totems & Taboos not only, restricted certain categories of people from eating certain things but also ensured that they protected them with all their might.

The environmentally friendly agricultural and hunting practices also played a role in ensuring the conservation of wild life. By the time the great adventurers arrived on the continent, “the region was teaming with wild life, the forests were dense and unscathed. Examples of precolonial conservation areas include, Chiefs Island in the current day Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana, Hluhluwe in South Africa among others.

The idea of National parks as we know them Today or Colonial wildlife conservation started in the late 19^th century with the setting up of laws to restrict hunting and land access as well as establishment of game reserves by colonial governments. The reason behind this, was the desire to protect African game from the Africans. After World War II, wild life conservation influence reached its maximum as multitudes were displaced in favor of creation of National parks across the continent.

The very first National Park to be established in this movement was Virunga in Democratic Republic of Congo under the name Albert National Park in 1925. The Park’s name was changed to Virunga in 1969 after the country received its independence. The park was established by King Albert 1 of Belgium with the goal of studying and protecting flora and fauna together with the ‘Primitive hunter gatherers- the African pygmies.’ To safe guard the mountain gorillas in the park, indigenous people were expelled from the protected region leading to loss of their traditional land rights.

The second National Park was Kruger National Park known for its ancient history. There is evidence of humans leaving here in the Earlier, Middle, and Later stone age periods. A game reserve was proclaimed by President Paul Kruger in 1989 and the park established in 1926.

Series IV: Ugandan Reserves and National Parks

The very first National reserve in Uganda was Bunyoro game reserve established in 1910 after the residents of the area were translocated to protect them from tsetse fly infestation that caused a sleeping sickness epidermic. It was established south of the river Nile in the current Masindi, Buliisa and Kiryandongo districts. The boundaries were later, in 1928 extended North of the river Nile into the present day Nwoya District. It was then declared a National Park in 1952.

The major attraction of the park are water falls named Murchison falls by sir Baker in 1863/4 formerly known as Kabalega Falls.

Queen Elizabeth National Park originally named Kazinga National Park, was founded in 1952. Before this, it was a grazing area for the Pastoral Basongora, Bakonjo and Banyankore. In 1906, the area North of Lake George was declared a reserve. In 1912, the whole Lake George and Ishasha areas were declared restricted areas due to the outbreak of rinderpest and sleeping sickness epidemics that caused death of many natives and continued until mid-1930s. The park was renamed Queen Elizabeth in 1954 to commemorate the coming of Queen Elizabeth the second to Uganda. The park is one of the oldest in Uganda and known for its Tree climbing lions, Elephants, buffaloes, spotted hyenas, primates and various species of birds.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park. This park was established to protect the Rwenzori Mountains, also known as the Mountains of the Moon, which are famous for their snow-capped peaks and unique alpine vegetation. Rwenzori Mountains National Park was designated in 1954.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, located in southwestern Uganda, was designated as a national park in 1991. It is renowned for its population of mountain gorillas, which are among the last remaining in the wild.

Whenever the story of the African National parks’ is told, both sadness and joy fill the hearts of the hearers. Sadness because of the pain endured by those who had not only to lose their property but also lands and lives to the parks; and joy because of the amounts of foreign exchange the parks have brought to their countries.