Uganda Wildlife Education Centre
Region
Africa
Country
Uganda
Flyway
East Atlantic flyway
Initiative
WLI Africa
About
70 acres area located in Entebbe Uganda just 10 minutes drive from Entebbe International airport. Three main ecosystems; Wetland, Savannah and Forest ( Uganda has four including mountain).
Funding support
Entry fees and GEF-PAMSU world bank (ended 2007)
Number of staff
58
Overall aims of the centre
To educate the public on conservation of wildlife, with emphasis on the young generation in partnership with stakeholders.
Description of the centre
70 acres area located in Entebbe Uganda just 10 minutes drive from Entebbe International airport
Opened in 1952 as an animal orphanage
Became traditional zoo in 1962
Turned into Conservation Education Centre for conservation awareness purposes
Three main ecosystems; Wetland, Savannah and Forest ( Uganda has four including mountain)
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) is the coordinating Zoo for the Zoos in East, Central and West Africa as mandated by Pan African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZA).
240 species of animals
301,502 visitors per year
Work Areas
Main CEPA work areas
Conservation education both onsite and community/ school outreach. Rescue and rehabilitation of animals. Captive breeding of threatened species.
Other programs that we run offsite;
Biodiversity conservation and Ecotourim promotion at Lutembe and Makanaga wetland system, Bush meat crisis conservation education program for Northern Uganda and annual climate change challenge for schools.
Top three successes
Hosting annual wetland international course on poverty reduction for Anglophone countries, thanks to adequate facilities and manpower.
Promoting conservation of Lutembe ramsar site through youth volunteerism in UWEC-UNV/UNDP program (Some support from UNDP)
Running of two children camps annually for children from rural areas for conservation of chimpanzees and rhinos (support from Cincinnati Zoo-USA)
Top three challenges
Inadequate instructional materials on Conservation Education (CE)
Lack of funds for publications and research
Inadequate training in program design, delivery and evaluation
Providing more training and initiating income generating projects that are environmental friendly among the communities neighboring protected wetlands/ramsar sites. How? Through sharing information via websites, publications, workshops, conferences and exchange visits
Expertise
Interpretation techniques
Creating signage / site information / Producing written materials / Using audio-visual tools / Developing nature trails
Visitor centres
Setting up a new visitor centre / Managing / creating habitat / Running a visitor centre / Building / maintaining structures
Participation
Working with disabled people / Engaging hard-to-reach groups / Engaging young people / Engaging the local community / Working with volunteers
Education and communication
Early years education / Delivering adult education / Working with primary schools / Lobbying / running campaigns / Working with secondary schools / Developing resources / materials
General
Auditing / assessing effectiveness / PR and marketing / Running effective administration / Health and safety / Fund-raising / Project planning / Recruiting local and international interns / Participating in environmental days / Organizing guided tours for visiting schools
Contact
Website address: www.uweczoo.org
Mr David Musingo
PO BOX 369, Entebbe, Uganda
E: dmusingo@yahoo.com or dmusingo@uweczoo.org
Tel: +256 772471052 or +256 41 320520
Fax: +256 41 320073