The project contributes to the realization of the
GEF Biodiversity Focal Area, strategic objective
one:
Improve sustainability of Protected Area
systems.
It seeks to strengthen protected area management
within 655,700 ha of savanna woodland in the Kidepo Critical
Landscape of North Eastern Uganda, encompassing eight protected
areas under a range of management authorities, and reduce threats
to biodiversity in the landscape as a whole by putting in place
sustainable use management practices for wild resources. This is
critical, as wildlife will depends on the wider ecological
landscape outside protected areas for long term survival. The
project will serve to strengthen the PA system by enhancing
management effectiveness in a cluster of PA within this landscape.
These PAs have received limited investment over the past 20 years,
unlike other PA sites in Uganda, and proportionately suffer from
lower management effectiveness compared to other sites. By
strengthening their management, and increasing conservation
outcomes, the project will serve to increase the overall
effectiveness of the national PA system. Moreover, the project will
allow Uganda to upgrade the status of the 95,600 ha Karenga
Community Wildlife Management Area, by gazetting it as a national
park (thereby improving the long term security of this important
site). This will contribute to efforts to enhance the
bio-geographic representation of NPs across the national PA
system.
