Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation

The Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC) is a post-graduate institute based in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, in south-western Uganda. The institute is part of the Mbarara University of Science and Technology and is focused on research, training, and monitoring for conservation management.

The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a tropical moist broadleaf forest in the Afromontane Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion. It is primarily protected within the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP).

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. 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.

The IFPC became the ITFC in 1991, the year BINP was established.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ McGinley, Mark (3 April 2009). "Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda". Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  2. ↑ Oates, John F. (1996). "African Primates". International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved 6 August 2009.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park travel guide from Wikivoyage


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