Conservation Workstream
Current Projects
We have been working in the Rwenzori Mountains since 1992, and are committed to supporting local efforts to minimise the human induced pressures on the National Park, which encompasses most of the mountain range. We also aim to support sustainable indigenous efforts to assist local communities whose livelihoods are linked to, or have been altered by, the Rwenzori Mountains or the establishment of the National Park.

In January of 2003 we set up a Small Grants Programme to support local non-governmental organisations; we gave out 5 initial grants (click here for info about these pilot projects).

Since 2005 we have supported the Ruboni Community Conservation and Development Program (RCCDP). This is a locally coordinated membership organisation that includes a wide range of projects devised and managed by the local communities bordering the Rwenzori Mountains National Park (RMNP). See below for full details about the project we are supporting within the RCCDP.

• More about the RCCDP
• More about the organisations within the RCCDP

By initiating a programme of forest purchase, the RCCDP propose to create a biodiversity "bank". The forest is conserved and local people benefit by being able to sustainably harvest seeds, forest products, and medicinal plants without irreversibly damaging the indigenous forest. Click here for more pictures of the forest.

The Objectives of the RCCDP Rwenzori Community Forest Project are to:

1. Conserve and protect an invaluable tract of indigenous forest
2. Maintain a sustainable natural resource for community benefit
3. Enable the local community to benefit from tourism
4. Sensitise the community to the benefits of their natural environment.
5. Replant indigenous trees in previously farmed areas
6. Generate income for the benefit of community members

Rwenzori Development Foundation assistance
In light of this, in August 2005 the RDF assisted the community to buy a stretch of 20 acres bordering the RMNP of which approximately 15 acres is indigenous rainforest.

RCCDP aim to preserve this land as an area of untouched indigenous forest bordering the RMNP. Other benefits of the biodiversity "bank" will include income for the community generated by creating tourist trails through the forest, through local people being employed as guides and through tourists spending more time and money within the community rather than passing straight through.

How can I visit the RCCDP Community Forest Project?
If you have a few days to spare and would like to walk in the beautiful forest of the Rwenzori Mountains, but don't want the expense of going into the National Park itself, why not visit the community and let them guide you round their new nature trail in the forest. The money you pay to the guides and by staying at the RCCDP Campsite goes directly to the local community. Click here for more info about the RCCDP campsite (links through to Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA) site).

The best way to visit the Community or to get to the Rwenzori Mountains is to travel from Kampala to Fort Portal or Kasese and then get a local bus or a taxi to the bottom of the dirt road leading to the Rwenzori Mountains National Park. Here you will need to get another vehicle or a motorbike taxi to Ibanda and then continue up the mountains to Nykalengija which is just near the entrance to the park. Go to our about Uganda section for some general maps of the area surrounding the Rwenzoris for more details.

Trekking in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park
If you are going up into the RMNP itself you need to book your trekking at the Uganda Wildlife Authority HQ in Kampala, Click here to visit them: www.uwa.or.ug.

(Photos on the left: A part of the Community Forest with the Rwenzori Mountains National Park in the background)

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