Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation
The Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC) is a post-graduate research institute based in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest,[citation needed] in south-western Uganda. The institute is a semi-autonomous part of Mbarara University of Science and Technology and is focused on research, training, and monitoring for conservation management in the Albertine Rift ecoregion.[citation needed]
ITFC is located on the Eastern border of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Ruhija village, Rubanda district of South Western Uganda. The long history of ITFC's work in ecological and sociological research has established it as a leading post graduate research institution and field station. With over 200 publications about conservation in the region and a wealth of national, regional and international partners and donors - ITFC's work in conservation has influenced the direction of conservation the world over, and more specifially in the Albertine Rift ecoregion.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a tropical moist broadleaf forest in the Afromontane Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion.[citation needed] It is primarily protected within the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP).[citation needed]
History
ITFC dates back to 1983 with an ecological survey of the Bwindi forest by Thomas M. Butynski, funded by the New York Zoological Society which is now Wildlife Conservation society. The forest is part of the only homeland of endangered mountain gorillas, which are now endemic to the Virunga Mountains.
In 1986, the Impenetrable Forest Conservation Project (IFCP) began with support from the World Wildlife Fund. The project's mission was to protect the last remaining Afromontane forests of south-west Uganda: Bwindi, Mgahinga, and Echuya.
In 1991, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Reserve became the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the Mgahinga Forest Reserve became Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[citation needed]
The IFPC became the ITFC - a semi autonomous academic unit of Mbarara University of Science and Technology in 1991, the same year in which Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was established. The Establishment of Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National Parks was after a successiful recommendation by ITFC (then IFCP), Mbarara University of Science and Technology and other conservation partners after they expressed the danger that Bwindi and Mgahinga Forests faced if not quickly gazetted as National parks. [1][2]
References
- ^ McGinley, Mark (3 April 2009). "Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda". Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
- ^ Oates, John F. (1996). "African Primates". International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
External links
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park travel guide from Wikivoyage
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
- Forestry in Uganda
- Forest conservation organizations
- Forest research institutes
- Conservation in Uganda
- Forests of Uganda
- Kanungu District
- Kisoro District
- Non-profit organisations based in Uganda
- Research institutes in Uganda
- Environmental organizations established in 1986
- Scientific organizations established in 1986
- 1986 establishments in Uganda
- Afromontane forests
- Uganda stubs
- Organization stubs