Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Uganda in the News
Safeguarding the Chimpanzees, Wildlife and Habitat of Kyambura Gorge
Please support the expansion of this vital project that Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust has been engaged in since 2009.
Kyambura Gorge, on the edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Western Uganda, is in the centre of an important area for avian, primate and wildlife biodiversity in Africa. The 11km long gorge is home to an isolated group of 32 chimpanzees and other wildlife.
Through the strategic assembling of land over 20 years, VSPT has created a 3km long buffer zone between the gorge and local communities, and has linked Kyambura Gorge Lodge to sustainable ecotourism and conservation.
The Kyambura Gorge Ecotourism Project has undertaken a series of community and conservation activities since 2009 to safeguard the Kyambura Gorge ecosystem. Guests at Kyambura Gorge Lodge can participate in the project during their stay.
Today, Volcanoes Safaris and Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust are the single largest stakeholders in the Kyambura Gorge ecosystem after the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. Without this intervention, the survival of the gorge and chimpanzees would be under threat.
Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust works in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to protect the threatened chimpanzees and other wildlife and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
Since 2021 the Roots & Shoots program has been implemented in eight schools near Kyambura Gorge Lodge to inspire young people to be guardians of the wildlife and their ecosystems.
The Vision
- Creating the Chimpanzee Monitoring Project to safeguard the threatened Kyambura chimpanzees. A team of full time Ugandan researchers supporting the Uganda Wildlife Authority will monitor the Kyambura chimpanzee population to understand their behaviour, relationships, feeding and health issues.
- Launching the Kyambura Research Center with new accommodation and work space for 20 researchers. Regular trips will be organised for local schoolchildren to learn about conservation. The Kyambura Guide Training Program, mentored by Volcanoes Head Guide Francis Kiwanuka, will increase from 12 to 24 guides per year.
- Expand the Kyambura Buffer Zone by twenty acres of land by the end of 2025
Friends of VSPT
Become a Friend of VSPT by supporting these vital activities:
- $500 pays for one school visit to Kyambura Research Center
- $1,500 supports the salaries and equipment for three wildlife and guiding trainees for 3 months
- $5,000 contributes to salaries of the Chimpanzee Monitoring Project for 3 months
- $10,000 will go to the building fund for research accommodation and allow the donor to be recognised as a benefactor on a prominently displayed donor wall
- $20,000 will purchase up to two acres of land to expand the Kyambura Buffer Zone
All donations can be made through Empowers Africa (a 501c3 entity) for US residents and via PayPal for UK and other residents.
Additional naming opportunities available on request.
Make a donation
Make a donation to this project via PayPal or Empowers Africa below. We appreciate your support! For tax-deductible donations from US residents donate via Empowers Africa.