Illegal resource use in protected areas is a problem for park managers. We investigated status and distribution of illegal activities inside Rwenzori Mountains National Park in areas adjacent to four sites where hydropower projects were being developed outside the park. We used in-park plot, nonplot-based methods and community surveys and compared findings from these with ranger patrol records of the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Seventeen kinds of illegal activities were recorded. Collection of medicinal plants and poaching were the most pervasive forms of illegal activities inside the park. Poaching exhibited significant differences (p = 0.03) across sites, and prevalence of poaching signs increased with distance from park boundary at two sites (p = 0.05). The study revealed higher levels of illegal activities than earlier recorded from ranger patrol data. Sixty-eight per cent (68%) and 44% of the respondents reported participation in collection of medicinal plants and poaching, respectively. Ninety-eight per cent (98%) of respondents agreed that the park is an important source for natural resources. Ranger patrols should extend further inside the park rather than near the boundaries as has been the case. The findings set a valuable benchmark for assessing the temporal and spatial variation of illegal resource extraction over the hydropower projects’ duration.

中文翻译：

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乌干达Rwenzori山国家公园内非法资源开采的现状：四个水电项目附近的基线研究

保护区中非法使用资源是公园管理者面临的一个问题。我们调查了Rwenzori山国家公园内与四个公园附近正在开发水电项目的地点相邻的区域内非法活动的现状和分布。我们使用了公园内的地块，基于非地块的方法和社区调查，并将这些发现与乌干达野生动物管理局的巡逻员巡逻记录进行了比较。记录了十七种非法活动。收集药用植物和偷猎是公园内非法活动的最普遍形式。 在两个地点之间的盗猎行为表现出显着差异（p = 0.03），并且在两个地点，盗猎迹象的发生率随距公园边界的距离而增加（p = 0.05）。这项研究表明，非法活动的数量比护林员巡逻数据所记录的要高。分别有68％（68％）和44％的受访者表示参与了药用植物的收集和偷猎。98％（98％）的受访者同意公园是自然资源的重要来源。护林员巡逻应在公园内延伸，而不是像往常那样靠近边界。这些发现为评估整个水电项目期间非法开采资源的时间和空间变化奠定了宝贵的基准。