Conservation Strategy Fund

People, Roads, and Gorillas in Southwestern Uganda

As part of CSF’s Biodiversity Understanding in Infrastructure and Landscape Development (BUILD) program funded by USAID and the Handsel Foundation, CSF course graduate Stephen Asuma, Program Officer at the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, will receive support to perform a cost benefit analysis of the economic and environmental impacts of a proposed road upgrade that would go through Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Mr. Asuma and his team of researchers will then compare the analysis to an alternative road project that would connect the local population of 13,000 people, who currently lack road access, to the road network.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, located in southwestern Uganda, is home to at least twelve species that are threatened with global extinction. The park’s population of critically endangered mountain gorillas makes up half the world’s remaining population of only 780 gorillas, and is a main attraction for the 17,000 tourists who visit the park annually. However, improving the state of the roads would help keep Bwindi National Park competitive with other gorilla tourism destinations in the region. Yet road development also brings the potential for adverse environmental impacts including habitat fragmentation, land clearing, increased incidences of trash and fire, and threats to the gorillas’ and other wildlife’s health and safety.

This analysis project will consider these impacts and compare the Bwindi Park road upgrade to an alternative project that would build a road outside of the park’s boundaries, which would serve the communities that lack road access. The research group will then provide information and recommendations to stakeholders and decision-makers regarding the most environmentally and economically viable steps for road improvements in the area.

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Oil Pipeline Construction Decisions in the Albertine Rift

Through CSF’s Biodiversity Understanding in Infrastructure and Landscape Development (BUILD) program funded by USAID and the Handsel Foundation, CSF course graduate Geoffrey Mwedde, Western Uganda Regional Manager for the Wildlife Conservation Society, will receive support to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of a new oil pipeline construction project in western Uganda. The Ugandan government has been moving fast to utilize recently discovered commercially viable oil deposits in the Albertine Graben region of the Albertine Rift, which is one of the most biologically diverse regions in Africa. The pipeline needs to connect the central processing facilities near Murchison Falls National Park to a refinery in the Kabale parish in the Hoima district. The construction is likely to affect biodiversity conservation and human livelihoods as the pipeline will likely go through human settlements, critical habitats and ecosystems, and geo-hazardous areas.

The route of the pipeline is still to be determined and the Wildlife Conservation Society research team aims to find the most financially and environmentally acceptable route through qualitative and quantitative analysis. A team of experts chosen by the Ugandan government has undertaken a strategic environment assessment (SEA) for the proposed pipeline in order to minimize the environmental damage to the region; however, the studies needed to provide analysis and recommendations on the pipeline route fall outside the scope of the government assessment. The SEA team has suggested that placing the route through Lake Albert is the best option, which could pose risks of its own. With CSF’s support, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s research team can offer suggestions for the most economically and environmentally sound route for the pipeline.

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Oil Development Impacts on Biodiversity in Murchison Falls National Park

Murchison Falls National Park, located in the Albertine Rift in Uganda, is home to both a staggering amount of biodiversity and to recently discovered commercial quantities of oil and gas. As the Ugandan government moves forward with plans to develop oil pipeline and refinery infrastructure, there is a need for the economic analysis to be complemented with in-depth assessments of the wider social, environmental and biodiversity impacts of the pipeline to reach equitable and sustainable decisions. CSF’s Biodiversity Understanding in Infrastructure and Landscape Development (BUILD) program funded by USAID will provide technical and monetary support for CSF course graduate Isaac Ntujju, Uganda National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) Senior Environmental Inspector, and course graduate Tom Obong Okello, the Uganda Wildlife Authority's (UWA) Murchison Falls Conservation Area Manager. They will work to identify and quantify the potential environmental impacts of the planned oil pipeline within Murchison Falls National Park.

The development of the estimated 2.5 billion barrels of oil and gas in the region must be weighed against the importance of Murchison Falls National Park as Uganda’s biggest and most biodiverse national park. Uganda’s environmental assessments in the past have often lacked critical information on environmental and biodiversity costs associated with infrastructure projects. These cost estimates need to be included in the decision making process to adopt precautionary measures to mitigate negative impacts and prevent huge environmental losses. The results of these assessments can also be applied to other regions in the Albertine Rift to ensure that Uganda does not jeopardize this biological hotspot while pursuing national development projects.

In addition to the lead researchers on this project Mr. Ntujju and Mr. Obong Okello, several other members of the research team are CSF course graduates, including NEMA’s District Support Officer Evelyn Lutalo, NEMA’s Project Officer Clearing House Mechanism Monique Akullo and UWA’s Mitigation and Monitoring Officer Moses Dhabasadh.

Two new exciting opportunities could give you the chance to be a part of the equation saving millions of acres worldwide.

The first, CSF's Strategy Director, is focused on identifying and seizing opportunities for the organization to pursue its mission at a greater scale and depth. The position is fundamentally focused on fundraising and the external environment, expanding CSF’s potential role in global conservation and raising the support needed to realize that potential. The Strategy Director will be responsible for communicating CSF’s accomplishments and capabilities to stakeholders that provide strategic opportunities for new programs and funding. To find out more about this position, click here.

The second, CSF's Program Director, will be in charge of making sure that the analyses conducted and mentored by CSF are relevant, of excellent quality and delivered to constituencies for maximum positive impact on conservation decision-making. This director provides leadership to CSF’s program staff and ensures that all program activities operate consistently and ethically within the mission and values of CSF. For more about this position, click here.

I am pleased to write an update on the activities and conservation initiatives that I have been working on after attending Conservation Strategy Fund’s 2012 course, Economic Tools for Conservation, in Stanford, CA.

Since October, I have been participating in a project called "Identification of Priority Areas for Conservation and Ecosystem Services" (with help from The Nature Conservancy and Geomatics Consultants). We are a multidisciplinary group and I work as a local coordinator. I compile information on the selection of targets (plants, mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles), threatened areas, and conservation goals, among others. In terms of applied economic concepts acquired, I have used what I have learned in the following different ways:

First, the project was created as a technical instrument to determine which areas should be conservation priorities, because there is a proposed project to implement a national electric transmission line from one region to another (our study area is 23 million hectares and covers the entire Amazon region of Loreto, Peru). In our portfolio of priority areas for conservation, it is recognized that various types of areas and ecosystem services would be affected by the project.

Second, on February 17th of this year came a "Zero Net Loss" decree, requiring environmental damage compensation. In other words, if an ecosystem is affected by the transmission line, there must be compensation in a similar ecosystem, and this should take into account the level of endemism, irreplaceability, and landscape context of that ecosystem.

Third, we are considering the following question: "Which is better, to maintain or restore?" From my colleagues' and my point of view, it is recommended to maintain than restore. (We believe this because, in a biodiverse rainforest, we have not yet seen a particularly successful example of restoration).

In conclusion, we have the task of creating alternatives for the transmission line route, prioritizing those that damage either a smaller quantity of sensitive ecosystems or ecosystems that are inherently less sensitive, and determining where there is the greatest opportunity to compensate for the affected ecosystems. This study represented the first of its kind to apply the new compensation law issued by the Peruvian Ministry of Environment (taking into account both environmental and economic factors), as well as the first to undertake a mapping of regional priority conservation areas. The results of this study will be indispensable for any organization intending to develop infrastructure in the Loreto-Peru Region.

As a second job, I just won the bid to participate as a biodiversity specialist in a project called "Strengthening Local Capacities for Productive Conservation of Biodiversity Resources Among the Populations of the 15 Communities in the Lower Ucayara-Yarapa River Basin, Loreto Peru"(led by the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute). Since February of this year, I have contributed to various activities aimed at sensitizing local people, guiding proper management of their natural resources, recovering resources that have been decimated, and promoting socio-economic interest within a value chain of products offered.

So far, I have helped consolidate and manage groups of palm trees and fish, and I have visited and geo-referenced areas of high resource use. By 2014, I hope to have approved management plans not only by locals but also by the ministry responsible for these issues, and find a more stable market and fair price for the products.

Also, we are encouraging the planting of native species and those of economic-interest (such as cedar, mahogany, and kapok) in both farms and back in forests. The idea is to help conserve these species, which local people have in their gardens or timber use areas, so they can focus on long-term, sustainable management.

Another activity that I have contributed to with the help of the tools that I learned with CSF, is my work on improving the production within a group of craft women. I have been conducting market research studies regarding sustainable management as well as eco-tourism. These women have been participating in the restoration of palm to be used for handicrafts. The presence of tourists in the area of the Yarapa River motivates 1) selling crafts, 2) “Recovery Demonstration Areas” of palms used in the manufacturing of handicrafts, 3) butterfly vivariums promoting awareness and conservation. Check out their Facebook account for photos and updates on their activities.

I am so grateful to the San Francisco Zoo for providing me with the opportunity to attend CSF’s Economic Tools for Conservation through their generous scholarship. In my conservation activities, I have utilized the knowledge acquired in the course as well as changed the factors I consider when making decisions. I hope that the SF Zoo will continue providing new funding opportunities for professionals involved in the Economic Tools for Conservation course, because it changes our vision, strengthens our opinions, and provides crucial knowledge on how to act on the issues of conservation and social development.