Useful Links

A selection of the most useful links to tropical ecological studies and conservation:

Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST)
ITFC is officially a research institute under Mbarara University for Science and Technology (MUST). MUST was established as Uganda’s second national university (after Makerere) in 1989, with the aim of training graduates with key skills needed to reduce poverty, and to ensure sustainable economic growth and community development in the country.

Uganda Wildlife Authority
The Ugandan Wildlife Authority is one of the governing bodies that regulates wildlife conservation in Uganda. It was established in August 1996 by the Uganda Wildlife Statute, which merged the Uganda National Parks and the Game Department. It is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by minister responsible for wildlife.
UWA is in charge of management of 10 National Parks, 12 Wildlife Reserves, 14 Wildlife Sanctuaries and provides guidance for 5 Community Wildlife Areas.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society (NYZS), and is based at the Bronx Zoo.
As of 2010, the Wildlife Conservation Society manages some 200 million acres (810,000 km2) of protected lands around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff. WCS has provided ITFC Director's salary for many years, and supports specific projects, such as the Climate Change project.

Makerere University Kampala
Makerere is the premier University for conservation relevant training and research in Uganda.  Makerere has trained most of Uganda’s senior UWA wardens, forest officers, as well as other conservation managers and leaders. ITFC has been involved with training many Makerere students and remains a close connection with many staff.
Many of Uganda’s current conservation leaders undertook their University studies in collaboration with ITFC (through Makerere and other Universities), providing a considerable and influential network of alumni in many of the regions institutions

Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust (BMCT)
Established in 1994 under the Uganda Trustees Laws, our mission is to foster conservation of biodiversity of MGNP and BINP through investments in community development projects, grants for research and ecological monitoring, funding park management and protection and programmes that create greater conservation awareness. Field of work includes  two administrative parishes adjacent to BINP & MGNP in the districts of Kanungu, Kabale and Kisoro, South Western Uganda.

International Gorilla Conservation Project
The goal of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) is to ensure the conservation of mountain gorillas and their regional afromontane forest habitat in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris Ltd is a Uganda based tour operator who helps many visitors to arrange their gorilla safaris, transportation and accommodation in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.

United Organisation for Batwa Development in Uganda (UOBDU)
In 2000 the Batwa organized themselves and formed their own organisation, the United Organisation for Batwa in Uganda (UOBDU). Its aim is to support Batwa in south west Uganda to address their land problems and help them develop sustainable alternative livelihoods. Through its Batwa members, UOBDU has identified four key areas it hopes to address including: Land and Housing; Education and Adult Literacy; Income Generation including Agriculture; and Forest Access and Benefit-Sharing.

Albertine Rift Program (part of WCS) specializes in providing high quality information and technical advice (ecological and social) to protected area authorities and their partners. They are involved in building the capacity of the protected area authorities, government and civil society in all countries in the Albertine Rift to address the various challenges they face.

UNDP and Biodiversity
The UNDP page on biodiversity contains a wealth of information on UNDP's work for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

USAID funded the PRIME WEST project, which included ITFC's study of the bush meat trade in Western Uganda. Since July 2009, it has funded the program 'WILD WEST', carried out by WCS Uganda. ITFC is a subgrantee.

The Rufford foundation supported the water quality monitoring activities in Bwindi as well as  in Rwenzori Mountains National Parks. 

The British Ecological Society paid for vegetation mapping, multiple use monitoring and problem animal control.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI), formerly the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, is an international conservation charity and non-governmental organization. FFI was originally founded in 1903 as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire by a group of British naturalists and American statesmen in Africa. It was then called the Fauna Preservation Society, before being renamed Fauna and Flora Preservation Society in 1981. The goal of the society was to safeguard the future of southern Africa’s large mammal populations, which had declined alarmingly due to over-hunting and habitat encroachment. Working in tandem with landowners, government and sport hunters, the Society helped pass legislation which controlled hunting in vast stretches of East Africa and South Africa.

Africa Wildlife Foundation (AWF) The African Wildlife Foundation is a leading international conservation organization focused solely on protecting Africa’s wildlife and wild landscapes as the key to the future prosperity of Africa and its people –  something they have been doing for over 50 years.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects. WWF is a foundation, in 2010 deriving 57% of funding from individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources (such as the World Bank, DFID, USAID) and 11% from corporations. The group says its mission is "to halt and reverse the destruction of our environment". Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwater ecosystems, and oceans and coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution and climate change.

Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation

International Tropical Ecology Society

Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Organization for Tropical Studies

Tropical Biology Association (fundraising and reporting guidelines in particular)

Tropical Ecology, Monitoring and Assessment Initiative (Conservation International )