Where We Work:

Uganda

Uganda is home to the largest freshwater lake on the continent and significant biodiversity, but its rich natural resources are threatened by a push for development to serve a growing population. We are helping to realize a prosperous Uganda in which wildlife and healthy ecosystems are the bedrock for community and national development through people-centered conservation, policy development, and protected area support.

Our work reflects a holistic strategy that includes:

  • Community empowerment, especially through livelihoods development and human-wildlife conflict mitigation
  • Technical support for the creation of Uganda’s first community conservancies
  • Community/private partnerships to enhance community resilience and quality of life
  • Counter-wildlife-trafficking support to protect threatened wildlife

Currently, we operate in two landscapes that together are home to elephants, gorillas, chimps, and other endangered species.

Uganda Kidepo Murchison Falls
Priority Landscapes

AWF in Action

Restoring biodiversity hotspots to empower communities

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

Read more on our work in Uganda
Community members in chili farm

Negotiating space for people and wildlife

To ease human-wildlife conflict, we support farmers in growing chili crops, whose pungency discourages elephants from raiding farmland. We also train community wildlife scouts in conflict prevention and mitigation techniques.

Learn about community conservation
chili

A solution for conservation in Uganda: conservancies

In partnership with us, UWA has helped create Uganda’s first conservancies: The 270-square-kilometer Murchison Community Conservancy, the 956-square-kilometer Karenga Community Wildlife Area, and the Rurambira Conservancy near the 260-square-kilometer Lake Mburo National Park. Conservancies are a means to expand habitat protection, address human-wildlife conflict, diversify tourism experiences, improve community revenues and livelihoods, and involve landowners and communities in wildlife conservation.

Read all about AWF’s conservancy work
Uganda landscape

Classroom Africa reaches young hearts and minds

In 2020, we officially opened Kidepo and Sarachom primary schools in Uganda, making six bright, airy, modern schools built under our Classroom Africa program. Through Classroom Africa, we seek to strengthen young people's natural affinity for wildlife, heighten ecological awareness, and create a corps of future conservationists and leaders.

VIDEO: The Heart of Conservation
Classroom Africa

Skilled canine-and-handler teams fight poaching

We support Uganda’s counter-wildlife-trafficking efforts and help to turn the tide on poaching and wildlife trafficking in critical areas.

New canine units and more 2022 wins
Canine and handler team

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

Ministry of Water and Environment

KAKKA Community Association’s Conservancy Executive Committee

District Local Governments

Community Wildlife Scouts (CWS)

Wildlife We Are Protecting

By the Numbers

hectares icon

389,082 Number of hectares protected and/or with improved conservation status due to AWF interventions beginning in 2016

person

33,339 Number of people benefiting from AWF's conservation efforts in Uganda

Elephant

5 of 6 Wildlife populations supported by AWF in Uganda that are stable/increasing

Portrait.

Contact

Rose Ssebatindira

Country Director, Uganda