The National Wildlife Crime Coordination Task Force (NWCCTF) in December 2025 convened a press engagement with editors, reporters and radio presenters from across the Bunyoro sub-region. The engagement is part of the Task Force's public-awareness objective: an informed press is one of the most powerful tools against wildlife and forest crime.
Discussions centred on the state of Bugoma Central Forest Reserve, the enforcement actions taken through 2025, and the resolutions adopted at the June multi-stakeholder engagement. Journalists were briefed on the legal framework — including the penalties available under the Uganda Wildlife Act, 2019 and the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003 — and on how to verify case information with the Task Force Secretariat before publication.
The Task Force also presented its public reporting channel, encouraging media houses to publicise the toll-free hotline and the online reporting form, through which citizens can report wildlife crime anonymously and track their reports with a reference code.
Participating journalists committed to sustained coverage of forest encroachment and trafficking in the sub-region. The Task Force thanked its partners — WCS, UNODC, the European Union and the Government of Denmark — for supporting the engagement.