No Sale, No Privatization: UWA Defends Kidepo Partnership With African Wildlife Foundation

By Frank Kamuntu

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) have announced plans to develop a Collaborative Management Partnership (CMP) for the Kidepo Valley Conservation Landscape, a move aimed at strengthening wildlife conservation, boosting community livelihoods and attracting sustainable investment into the region.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the two conservation organisations said the initiative had been approved by the UWA Board of Trustees and represents the next phase of a partnership that has spanned more than three decades.

According to the statement, the proposed partnership seeks to improve protected area management, strengthen species conservation, combat wildlife crime and promote sustainable development while creating greater socio-economic opportunities for communities living in and around the conservation landscape.

“The partnership builds on more than three decades of collaboration between UWA and AWF to conserve Uganda’s wildlife and protected areas,” the statement reads.

The two organisations revealed that they are currently undertaking a consultative design process to develop a framework that will strengthen conservation and sustainable management of the Kidepo Valley Conservation Landscape.

They said the partnership is expected to mobilise additional financial and technical resources, enhance institutional capacity and improve conservation outcomes while supporting community-led conservation initiatives.

UWA and AWF dismissed concerns that the proposed arrangement could lead to the transfer of ownership or management of Kidepo Valley National Park.

The organisations emphasized that the Government of Uganda will retain full ownership and management authority over Kidepo Valley National Park and all other protected areas within the conservation landscape.

They clarified that the proposed Collaborative Management Partnership does not involve the sale, lease, privatisation, transfer of ownership or transfer of management authority of any protected area.

Instead, the initiative is designed to strengthen biodiversity conservation, improve landscape management and generate long-term economic benefits for surrounding communities through sustainable financing and development.

The statement also stressed that local communities, cultural institutions, district local governments, development partners and other stakeholders will remain at the heart of the partnership’s design and implementation.

According to UWA and AWF, the partnership will be guided by the principles of collaboration, transparency, participation and shared responsibility, with continuous stakeholder consultations throughout the process.

The two organisations pledged to maintain open and transparent communication as the partnership progresses through the required Government of Uganda review and approval processes.

“Stakeholders will continue to receive updates through official communication channels as the process progresses,” the statement noted.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority is the government agency mandated to conserve and sustainably manage Uganda’s wildlife resources, while the African Wildlife Foundation is one of Africa’s leading conservation organisations, working to protect wildlife and wild landscapes through science, policy, conservation practice and community partnerships.

If approved, the Collaborative Management Partnership is expected to strengthen conservation efforts in one of Uganda’s most important wildlife landscapes while expanding opportunities for local communities to benefit from sustainable tourism and conservation-driven development.