Women in Conservation Fund

Women in Conservation Fund is sponsored by African Conservation Centre US. The fund supports women-led initiatives that advance conservation efforts and strengthen Kenya's sustainability by increasing economic opportunities for Maasai women in biodiverse landscapes like Amboseli, Laikipia, and Maasai Mara.

GC Announces Historic $2 Million Dollar Grant to Save African Species — Global Conservation GC Announces Historic $2 Million Dollar Grant to Save African Species Global Conservation and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund Announce Historic $2 Million Grant for Wildlife Recovery of Lions, Rhinos, Elephants, Hippos, Hyenas, and Giraffes in Uganda’s National Parks Milestone for East African conservation: reintroducing rhinos and lions to Kidepo Valley National Park Global Conservation and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund announced today a landmark five-year, $2 million investment to deliver transformative, landscape-scale conservation across Uganda’s Kidepo Valley, Murchison Falls, and Queen Elizabeth National Parks.

The first of its kind, the national initiative, From Recovery to Resilience: Scaling Conservation Impact in Uganda, will be executed in partnership with the Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF) and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), building on more than a decade of collaborative management and conservation work in the region.

Major expected outcomes of this initiative will be enhanced protection of Uganda’s national parks, which this month recruited 600 new park rangers, and the reintroduction of rhinos and lions to Kidepo Valley National Park, a milestone for East African conservation.

Global Conservation and the Busch Gardens Conservation Fund will direct funding toward protecting critical species, including lions, rhinos, elephants, hippos, hyenas, and giraffes. The program will integrate species recovery plans into the EarthRanger platform, enabling a scalable, data-driven system that expands effective management across entire protected areas.

The initiative signifies wildlife protection at scale by addressing the 80% of under-managed key landscapes across the region using Global Park Defense and Community Protection methods.

Large-scale, technology-enabled conservation uses digital systems and real-time field data to provide consistent, evidence-based protection and species recovery for three of Uganda’s most iconic and endangered national parks, which face wildlife poaching and industrial-scale illegal snaring of thousands of animals each year.

In March 2026, Global Conservation, in partnership with the Uganda Conservation Foundation, the Northern Rangeland Trust, WildLandscapes East Africa, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority, successfully reintroduced rhinoceros to Kidepo Valley National Park, which had been wiped out in 1983 due to poaching, conflict, and failing protection.

This funding enables around-the-clock surveillance and patrolling to protect the rhinos inside Kidepo Valley National Park and improve fencing, access roads, fire prevention, park-wide communications, and security systems. Historically, conservation impact across Uganda’s protected areas has been concentrated in limited, tourism-accessible zones, leaving more than 80% of key landscapes under-managed.

These UCF-led recovery programs directly address that imbalance by transitioning from localized recovery efforts to a park-wide, fully integrated system-driven model of protected area management, embedding sector and species-specific planning at the core of national park operations.

Jeff Morgan, Executive Director of Global Conservation, said, “This partnership reflects Global Conservation’s deep commitment to protecting wildlife at scale. Uganda’s national parks are home to some of Africa’s most iconic and threatened species, and we are proud to invest in a program that combines cutting-edge technology with on-the-ground expertise to secure their future.

The collaboration with Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, UCF, and UWA gives us confidence that these funds will deliver lasting, measurable impact. ” Coordinated Investment Framework Delivers Conservation at Scale Image courtesy of EarthRanger With a projected budget of approximately $2 million over five years, the initiative is structured as a catalytic, co-funded platform to raise up to $5 million in this period.

Contributions from the Busch Gardens Conservation Fund will leverage matched funding from Global Conservation, creating a coordinated investment framework designed to deliver conservation impact at scale.

Rob Yordi, Executive Director of the Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, said, “For more than two decades, the Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has been dedicated to supporting grassroots conservation efforts that deliver meaningful results for wildlife and local communities.

This initiative builds on that legacy by bringing together partners around a coordinated investment framework that aligns resources, expertise, and long-term conservation goals. By co-funding proven conservation solutions and scaling them across entire ecosystems, we can accelerate wildlife recovery, strengthen protected area management, and create lasting impact in some of Africa’s most important landscapes.

” Michael Keigwin, Founder and Trustee of the Uganda Conservation Foundation, said, “Our collaborative management with the Uganda Wildlife Authority is based on thirty years of frontline conservation and regional development in three of Africa’s most incredible landscapes and species. ” Using devices as simple as cell phones, conservationists are able to keep track of data across the protected areas. Photo courtesy of EarthRanger.

Crucially, the integration of digital systems and real-time field data will enable the consistent production of high-quality, evidence-based content from Uganda’s parks, significantly expanding global media reach, enhancing donor visibility and positioning all partners at the forefront of large-scale, technology-enabled conservation.

Charles Tumwesigye, Commissioner of Field Operations of Uganda Wildlife Authority, said, “Our use of conservation technology across our protected areas has grown enormously, with UWA for the first time having real-time access to data and reports to support and help us conserve our protected areas, tourism, and our wildlife better. We can’t thank our long-term partners enough and have lots yet to accomplish.

” By embedding sector-based planning, scaling data-driven systems, and focusing on sustained species recovery, the program will expand protected area management across entire landscapes, delivering measurable ecological recovery, reduced threats, and resilient park-community systems — while establishing a scalable, nationally owned model for long-term conservation success in Uganda.

Global Conservation Leading International Funding of Operation Mercury II: Removal of Illegal Gold Mining and Cartels Tambopata National Park, Peruvian Amazon Global Conservation is working under a newly signed cooperation agreement with Peru’s Public Ministry’s Specialized Environmental Prosecutors Office to undertake a dangerous, multi-phase national park enforcement mission to remove illegal miners and organized crime syndicates destroying one of Peru’s most important and largest national parks, Tambopata National Park in the Amazon.

GC in the News: Peru Is Losing a Battle Against Illegal Gold Mining in Its Rainforests As wealthy people and governments seek refuge in gold from inflation, wars, and geopolitical instability, the heyday of the precious metal has turned mining into such a magnet that, since last year, illegal miners have deforested an area equivalent to roughly 700 soccer fields within Tambopata, digging up dirty gold potentially worth millions of dollars.

Reconnaissance Overflight Carried Out Against the Advance of Illegal Mining in Madre de Dios On August 27, the 2nd Jungle Brigade for the Protection of the Amazon received a visit from Dr. Ronal Ramón Flores Ñañez, Deputy Supreme Prosecutor attached to the Office of the Attorney General, and Dr. Frank Robert Almanza Altamirano, National Coordinating Senior Prosecutor of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Offices, to verify the military actions carried out against the advance of illegal mining in Madre de Dios.

GC in the News: Peru Steps Up Fight Against Illegal Gold Mining The raid over several days this week was part of an intensified government campaign against illegal gold mining in Madre de Dios, one of Peru’s most biodiverse regions, as authorities try to stop the activity from advancing into protected areas of the Amazon.

Mining has stripped away vast areas of rainforest, leaving behind a scarred landscape of contaminated pools and altered rivers in the hunt for lucrative gold.

GC Featured in ABC News: Peru cracks down on illegal gold mining in Amazon reserve with military show of force Teams of soldiers on Tuesday stormed Tambopata National Park, a spot in the Peruvian Amazon in the southeastern Madre de Dios region visited by an average of 40,000 tourists per year. ABC News documented countless gold mining camps along the Tambopata river, which was home to a rich rainforest a few years prior.

Global Conservation Welcomes New Advisor Rob Baigrie CFA Robert Baigrie is Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), building relationships that are able to generate transformational support for the organization’s highest priority initiatives.

As a member of WCN’s senior leadership team, he works closely with the President and CEO across business and conservation pillars, with an immediate focus on the Africa Keystone Fund. Baja Sur’s Global Park Defense Second Quarter Progress Report 2026 During the second quarter of 2026, Global Conservation in Mexico has worked alongside our partners CONANP, CONAPESCA, and SEMAR to deploy two Marine Monitor systems.

And park rangers alongside fisheries officers have been working closely together to carry out marine and land patrols along the marine protected area. Immediate Help Needed: Sumatran Orangutan Population Drops Nearly 20 Percent The Sumatran orangutan population is steadily decreasing. The population has fallen by 19.

5% since 2011, according to recent survey results published in a respected scientific journal. The current population stands at 11,694 individuals. At the same time, there are only an estimated 716 remaining Tapanuli orangutans, making their population a critically endangered species.

GC Supports Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, Myanmar Despite Civil War To help secure the future of this unique place, Global Conservation signed an agreement with the Myanmar Ministry of the Environment in 2018. This year, the Myanmar Department of Forestry will begin to deploy Global Park Defense in AKNP, and Global Conservation will work to have AKNP listed as a Natural and Cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Update on GC Singkil Wildlife Reserve and Suaq Restoration in Leuser Ecosystem, Sumatra In order to stop illicit palm oil plants and timber extraction, Global Conservation is supporting the construction of new guard posts, restoring forests through the Squa nursery program, and advancing law enforcement partnerships.

Komodo National Park Rangers Clear All Poaching from the West Side of the Park Successful arrests have marked a significant milestone in protecting Komodo NP. Intelligence-led enforcement efforts and collaboration with governmental agencies reflect a long-term commitment to dismantling the poaching network and bringing all perpetrators to justice.

GC Film “Saving the Last Koalas” to be featured in the upcoming Wild Earth Oceania Film Festival Saving the Last Koalas is one of twelve films and a lever for a National Campaign to both Protect the GKNP and Stop all native logging in Australia. For The Oceans Successfully Completes the First Phase of the “Peace for the Pacific” Expedition GC in the News: Koalas are Running Out of Time. Will a $140 Million National Park Save Them?