Where We Work:

Kidepo

Tucked into Uganda’s northernmost boundary with Kenya and South Sudan, the Kidepo landscape has more than 30 protected and conserved areas, including three national parks. At approximately 136,000 square kilometers, it is one of the region’s most intact conservation landscapes. Challenges include human-wildlife conflict, climate change, agricultural expansion, livestock encroachment, gold and oil extraction, infrastructure development, and poaching.

Our partner communities are spread across 956 square kilometers of community wildlife areas and six districts—Karenga, Kaabong, Abim, Kotido, Kitgum, and Agago—meaning we reach 370,000 people over 9,500 square kilometers.

Our conservation work in this vital landscape includes:

  • Empowering communities through training and microenterprise
  • Enhancing climate change adaptation and resilience
  • Mitigating human-wildlife conflict and implementing species recovery and action plans
  • Promoting sustainable land management through conservancies and collaborative land-use planning
  • Equipping rangers and providing training in ecological monitoring, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and wildlife law enforcement
  • Empowering youth through environmental education and awareness
Kidepo Karenga Matheniko Kidepo Valley Kidepo Mount Elgon
Other State Protected Area
Community Conservation Area

AWF in Action

Restoring biodiversity hotspots to empower communities

Our holistic approach in Uganda integrates sustainable agricultural enterprise, projects that address human-wildlife conflict, conservancy support and development, and conservation education.

See our landscape work in Uganda
Mountain Gorillas

Negotiating space for people and wildlife

To ease human-wildlife conflict, we support farmers and train community wildlife scouts in conflict prevention and mitigation techniques.

Read about community conservation
Chili

Integrating communities and conservation

With our support, the Uganda Wildlife Authority created Uganda’s first conservancies, including the Karenga Community Wildlife Area in the Kidepo landscape. Today we serve as technical advisors for conservancy managers and help with various needs such as training in natural-resource management and tourism operations.

Learn more
Kidepo landscape

Equipping rangers for the field

Often, the biggest barrier for rangers is the most mundane: not having simple supplies like boots and water bottles. We support the Uganda Wildlife Authority with the equipment they need so they can focus on protecting biodiversity. During COVID-19, the need for equipment was especially dire.

See our COVID-19 Emergency Response
equipment handover

Engaging youth in conservation

In Kidepo Valley, students used to walk up to ten kilometers to school. In 2021, we opened two new schools right in those students’ communities. Our Classroom Africa program gives students the chance to learn about conservation and see it in action through park visits.

Watch: The Heart of Conservation
Classroom Africa

We work with the people of Uganda for wildlife. Our strategic, implementing and funding partners include:

Communities in the Kidepo landscape

KAKKA Community Association

Local District Government

Community Wildlife Scouts

Wildlife We Are Protecting

By the Numbers

gas

80,000 Liters of fuel given to Uganda Wildlife Authority for Kidepo protected-area patrols

scouts icon

80 Community wildlife scouts trained in biological monitoring

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2K+ Students served by two schools that AWF built in the Kidepo landscape