The Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC) is a post-graduate research institute based in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, [1] in south-western Uganda. The institute is a semi-autonomous part of Mbarara University of Science and Technology and is focused on research, training, and monitoring for conservation management in the Albertine Rift ecoregion. [2]
ITFC is located on the Eastern border of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Ruhija village, Rubanda district of South Western Uganda. The long history of ITFC's work in ecological and sociological research has established it as a leading post graduate research institution and field station. With over 200 publications about conservation in the region and a wealth of national, regional and international partners and donors - ITFC's work in conservation has influenced the direction of conservation the world over, and more specifically in the Albertine Rift ecoregion.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a tropical moist broadleaf forest in the Afromontane Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion. It is primarily protected within the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP). [3] [4]
ITFC dates back to 1983 with an ecological survey of the Bwindi forest by Thomas M. Butynski, funded by the New York Zoological Society which is now Wildlife Conservation society. The forest is part of the only homeland of endangered mountain gorillas, which are now endemic to the Virunga Mountains. [2]
In 1986, the Impenetrable Forest Conservation Project (IFCP) began with support from the World Wildlife Fund. The project's mission was to protect the last remaining Afromontane forests of south-west Uganda: Bwindi, Mgahinga, and Echuya.[ citation needed ]
In 1991, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Reserve became the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the Mgahinga Forest Reserve became Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[ citation needed ]
The IFPC became the ITFC - a semi autonomous academic unit of Mbarara University of Science and Technology in 1991, the same year in which Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was established. The Establishment of Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National Parks was after a successful recommendation by ITFC (then IFCP), Mbarara University of Science and Technology and other conservation partners after they expressed the danger that Bwindi and Mgahinga Forests faced if not quickly gazetted as National parks.
As part of their work, ITFC carries out ecological research and monitoring on the state on both plants and animals all around the Albertine Rift ecoregion. This puts makes places such as Mount Rwenzori National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Semuliki National Park, Mount Elgon National Park, Mgahinga National National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the Greater Virunga Landscape. Activities such as vegetation monitoring, animal monitoring, Gorilla population census, community involvement in conservation, promotion of sustainable tourism practice among so many others are the regular activities at ITFC.
The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, in the area where Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Uganda meet. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift Mountains, which border the western branch of the East African Rift. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu. The name "Virunga" is an English version of the Kinyarwanda word ibirunga, which means "volcanoes".
The mountain gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018.
Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 m (16,762 ft) in the Rwenzori Mountains. From north to south it extends approximately 300 km (190 mi), largely along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda in the east. It covers an area of 8,090 km2 (3,120 sq mi).
The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a national park in southwestern Uganda. It is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and is situated along the Democratic Republic of the Congo border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge of the Albertine Rift. Composed of 321 km2 (124 sq mi) of both lowland and montane forest, it is accessible only on foot. It is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-designated World Heritage Site.
Kisoro District is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. The town of Kisoro is the site of the district headquarters.
Kigezi District once covered what are now Kabale District, Kanungu District, Kisoro District and Rukungiri District, in southwest Uganda. Its terraced fields are what gives this part of Uganda its distinctive character. Kigezi was popularly known as the Switzerland of Africa. The coordinates for the region are: Latitude:01 13 20S, 29 53 20E.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a national park in southwestern Uganda. It was created in 1991 and covers an area of 33.9 km2 (13.1 sq mi).
The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lower-lying areas, and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago, as their distribution is analogous to a series of sky islands.
The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity.
Semuliki National Park is a national park in Bwamba County, a remote part of the Bundibugyo District in the Western Region of Uganda that was established in October 1993. It encompasses 219 km2 (85 sq mi) of East Africa's only lowland tropical rainforest. It is one of the richest areas of floral and faunal biodiversity in Africa, with bird and butterfly species being especially diverse. The park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Shelley's crimsonwing is a vulnerable species of estrildid finch found in Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and western Uganda in Africa. It has shown population decline over the past few decades, with a current population estimate of 2,500–9,999. This is possibly related to uncontrolled deforestation.
The wildlife of Uganda is composed of its flora and fauna. Uganda has a wide variety of different habitats, including mountains, hills, tropical rainforest, woodland, freshwater lakes, swamps and savanna with scattered clumps of trees. The country has a biodiverse flora and fauna reflecting this range of habitats and is known for its primates, including gorillas and chimpanzees. There are ten national parks and thirteen wildlife reserves; some 345 species of mammal and 1020 species of bird have been recorded in the country.
Mount Sabyinyo is an extinct volcano in eastern Africa in the Virunga Mountains. Mount Sabyinyo is the oldest volcano of the range. It is north-east of Lake Kivu, one of the African Great Lakes, and west of Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda. The summit of the mountain, at 3,669 metres (12,037 ft), marks the intersection of the borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda, and holds religious significance for local tribes. It also is within the adjoining national parks established by these countries: Virunga National Park in the DRC, the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.
Tourism in Uganda is focused on Uganda's landscape and wildlife. It is a major driver of employment, investment and foreign exchange, contributing USh 4.9 trillion to Uganda's GDP in the financial year 2012–2013.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest located in south-western Uganda and is located in three districts of Kisoro, Kabale and Kanungu. The Bwindi forest is on the edge of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, at elevations ranging from 1,160 to 2,607 metres. The forest contains around 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Reserve was set up in 1942 on the rim of the Rift Valley.
The International Gorilla Conservation Programme was formed in 1991 to ensure that the critically endangered mountain gorillas are conserved in their habitat in the mountain forests of the Virunga Massif in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Echuya Batwa, commonly known as pygmies, are an endangered group of people around Echuya Forest Reserve in Kisoro and Kabale Districts of South-Western Uganda. The Echuya is located in the Albertine Rift region recognized as an important eco-region. The Batwa are believed to have migrated from the Ituri Forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in search of wild animals to hunt, hence the name Kisoro, literally meaning "the area occupied by wild animals". The Batwa live in small huts mainly made from sticks and grass, and number 6,700 per a 2014 estimate by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
The Ruwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of the Rwenzori Mountains and Virunga Mountains in central Africa.
The Echuya Central Forest Reserve is a forest reserve in Uganda. This typical tropical rainforest covers approximately 34 km2 and is located at the intersection of Kisoro and Rubanda districts. It is one of the few remaining tropical rain forests in Uganda.
Lake Mulehe is a crater lake situated in the Kisoro District of southwestern Uganda, close to the border with Rwanda. This lake is a part of the Albertine Rift, which is well known for its biological diversity and visually striking landscapes.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park travel guide from Wikivoyage