NFTs put up for sale to protect Uganda’s mountain gorillas

The innovative conservation initiative by the Ugandan Wildlife Authority and conservation charity The Naturalist aims to safeguard the population of apes

(Unsplash)

A pioneering initiative to protect Uganda’s population of mountain gorillas makes use of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or digital collectibles, to allow people all over the world to appreciate the beauty of gorillas and help protect them.

There are only around a thousand mountain gorillas left, with more than half living in Uganda, where decades of intensive conservation work has given rise to hope for their future.

However the sudden loss of tourism in Uganda due to Covid-19 posed a grave risk to this sub species of great ape. Mountain gorilla conservation relies on revenue from tourist trekking, which declined sharply since March 2020.

The Ugandan Wildlife Authority and conservation charity The Naturalist have joined forces to create sustainable sources of non-trekking revenues to ensure the gorillas remained protected.

Called the Home of the Gorillas (HoG), the initiative leverages technology to enable global community engagement with the gorillas, using a subscription-based app called “My Gorilla Family” which allows users to join a gorilla family and contribute to conservation via interactive activities.

The app will provide users with daily interaction with the gorilla families through virtual trekking, celebrate gorilla milestones such as new births and birthdays, and allow them to access regular updates on movement and life achievements.

The HoG initiative will also make use of NFTs, selling rare gorilla photographs which will be auctioned to raise funding to support the conservation of Uganda’s gorillas.

“Digital platforms can today be used to enhance the value of various industries, and NFTs are one such kind,” said Kwame Rugunda who is part of the HoG team. “We are delighted to be working with various partners to bring this to life in Uganda, as we together launch Uganda’s first NFT for our wildlife.”

The campaign hopes to not only enhance conservation and to strengthen Uganda’s tourism sector, but also to educate people from all over the world about the value of protecting mountain gorillas, giving them a unique way to appreciate their beauty and to help take care of them for future generations.

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