JGI UGANDA FIELD PROGRAMMES

Wildlife Landscapes & Development For Conservation Project (Western Uganda):

USAID/Uganda's biodiversity program under the Economic Growth objective is to reduce threats to biodiversity and conserve critical ecosystems and species across diverse landscapes in the Albertine Rift. Towards meeting this objective, USAID has provided support to JGI through the WCS WILD West project to implement two main activities, namely:

• To provide an enabling environment for biodiversity conservation through improving the skills and access to information for better conservation and sound development thus reducing the threats to forest and woodland biological diversity by training teachers and teacher trainers in environmental education and enhancing conservation awareness amongst communities adjacent key protected areas. This, in the long run, is expected to create the necessary knowledge and awareness for harmonious relationships between communities and protected areas.
• To provide a framework that unifies a national partnership among researchers, private sector, NGOs and government agencies that can collaborate in the long term monitoring, and where necessary the intervention, of the health status of the great ape populations in Uganda. Such a partnership would help maintain a healthy population of great apes and minimize disease transmission risks. In particular the overall project focuses on disease risks associated with research, tourism, and the ever-growing close proximity of local communities to great ape populations. Attainment of this goal will not only contribute to the conservation of a keystone species of tourism interest but also to maintaining and monitoring ecosystem health in the concerned landscape. The information generated through health monitoring will certainly also contribute to more effective management of the concerned Protected Areas.