Emergency action to address COVID-19 related threats to the survival of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP).

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by Ebenezer Paul , Conservation Through Public Health

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Conservation Through Public Health

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), home to 43% of the remaining 1,063 endangered mountain gorillas, faces growing threats from human activities. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) addressed two critical issues: (i) Preventing COVID-19 transmission among people and from people to gorillas through community and park frontline workers awareness, personal protective equipment, testing gorillas using non-invasive methods and people in close contact with gorillas, and rapid case response, ensuring no positive cases among gorillas; (ii) Tackling increased poaching caused by tourism loss and poverty by meeting urgent nutritional needs, promoting alternative livelihoods, and supporting park patrols, which significantly reduced poaching and other illegal forest entries. This initiative was part of the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife program, co-funded by the European Union.

Last update: 07 Jan 2025

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Context

Challenges addressed

Loss of Biodiversity

Poaching

Lack of alternative income opportunities

Health

Lack of food security

Unemployment / poverty

Scale of implementation

Local

Ecosystems

Tropical evergreen forest

Theme

Disaster risk reduction

Food security

Health and human wellbeing

Sustainable livelihoods

Local actors

One Health

Outreach & communications

Location

Buhoma, Kanungu, Uganda

Nkuringo, Kisoro, Uganda

Rubuguli, Kisoro, Uganda

Bujengwe, Kanungu, Uganda

Ruhija, Rubanda, Uganda

East and South Africa

Impacts

Environmentally,

The project contributed to safeguarding 43% of the world’s mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) by testing over 200 gorillas for COVID-19 and enforcing preventive protocols, resulting in no infections and a record 22 gorilla births during the project period.
Additionally, 1,002 vulnerable households received Ready to Grow Gardens, reducing reliance on poaching and illegal forest activities.

Socially,

Over 31,000 community members from 5,926 households were sensitized on COVID-19 prevention, conservation, and hygiene practices quarterly, resulting in a 28% increase in knowledge about zoonotic diseases transmission and improved sanitation and hygiene practices.
Training provided to 312 Village Health and Conservation Team (VHCT) members and 335 park staff improved local capacity and enhanced community-led health and conservation efforts.

Economically,

The Ready to Grow initiative increased food security, with 93% of beneficiaries establishing gardens and improving daily meals while reducing weekly food expenditures by 33%.
The Gorilla Conservation Coffee program engaged 500 farmers, offering above-market prices and purchasing 33.2 tones of red cherries, boosting livelihoods of small holder farmers around BINP.

The project’s holistic approach promoted biodiversity conservation, enhanced community resilience, and improved coexistence between people and mountain gorillas.