NatureUganda Brief Overview
Information kindly provided by Henry Seguya
NatureUganda, the East African Natural History Society, (EANHS), is the oldest organization having been founded in1909 with the primary aim of documenting the diversity of wildlife in East Africa.
It is a membership non-governmental organization with a mission to “Promote the Understanding, Appreciation and Conservation of nature”. We have international partners like Birdlife international and IUCN (the World Conservation Union).
Nature Uganda implements its policies through:
Research which promotes the understanding of Nature. This is done through many avenues by use of Site Support Groups (SSGs), bird counts and the various field officers, projects and its from this that NatureUganda qualifies to be an NGO which does research and after follows it by a conservation programme.
Membership which promotes the Understanding of Nature and NU does this through Nature walks, magazines and other publications, excursions, public talks, environmental economic assessments, petitions.
Conservation programmes which have been started in most parts of Uganda especially in the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) where the projects implemented also emphasise improvement of livelihoods through Income Generating Activities and capacity building activities. Other conservation activities carried out also include Species Action Plans (SAP) which target conservation of the endangered species.
In pursuing this mission NatureUganda strives to; create a nature friendly public, enhance knowledge of Uganda’s natural history, advocate for policies favorable for the environment and take action to conserve priority species sites and habitats.
NatureUganda
NatureUganda has 6 working groups which include:
BirdLife Uganda working group which works towards the conservation of birds and their habitats. Among its other activities, Birdlife Uganda is involved in identifying Important Bird Areas (IBA's) for Uganda and Producing a Popular Bird Handbook for use by schools in Uganda.

Herps Working Group is a team of people interested in herpetiles (amphibians and reptiles). They document, conserve and spread awareness of animals in Uganda especially the rare threatened and restricted range species.
Uganda Wetlands Working Group which promotes the conservation and wise use of Uganda's vital wetlands and organises January and July censuses of waterbirds at selected sites. It also conducts training in wetland monitoring.
Plants working Group which promotes the conservation of plants in Uganda with special emphasis on rare species and other priority groups like the Orchids. The group provides information on the status of wild plants in Uganda.
Mammals Working Group which promotes the major aspects concerning the status of mammals in Uganda in relation to their plight and conservation
Microbial Diversity Working Group which is interested in establishing a network of people interested in Microbial Diversity and work together to contribute to the implementation of Uganda's international obligation such as the CBD.
Friends of Dudus 
Promotes the conservation of Dudus (insects) and their habitats
Legal Status (country of registration and registration number): legally registered NGO in Uganda registration number S.5914/1259
Date of creation = 1909 as part of the East Africa Natural History Society
Number of paid staff = 31
Number of female paid staff = 8
Number of volunteers = 6
Number of female volunteers = 3
Number of female staff in secretarial and other support staff = 4
Previous Tourism projects implemented by Nature Uganda
1. Nabajjuzi Wetland community eco-tourism and Conservation programme implemented since 2002 todate led by Ms. Ada Nshemereirwe funded by various donors over time including RSPB (Paul Buckley, Chris Magin and Dieter Hoffman) , The Whitley Fund for nature –UK (contact person is Georgina Ponder
2. Enhancing local community capacity for community eco-tourism for livelihood improvement and biodiversity conservation initiative – supporting the Mabamba SSG project – Uganda implemented between 2002-2004. This led by was Ambrose Mugisha and Ms. Jane Nimpamya and funded by DGIS through BirdLife International to a tune of Euros 1,000. Our contact person was David Thomas (E-mail david.thomas@birdlife.org.uk ; Tel: +44 1223 277 318).
3. Assessment of community Eco-tourism potential at Echuya forest reserve in south western Uganda for the period 2006 to 2007 led by Ambrose Mugisha and Ms. Musiimire Zeneb and funded to the tune of UKP 5,000 by KULIKA UK through RSPB. Contact person at RSPB is Dr.Chris Magin email Chris.Magin@rspb.org.uk . Ecotourism feasibility study report was annexed for your information.
4.Katwe community eco-Tourism and Information centre led by Jimmy Muheebwa and funded by FINIDA to a tune of Euro 25,000 for the period 2004 – 2006. Contact person was Mike Makin at Birdlife Finland
5. Enhancing capacity of SSGs for biodiversity conservation and livelihood improvement through eco-tourism at Musambwa islands Important Bird Areas (IBA) led by Ambrose Mugisha funded by DGIS TMF through BirdLife International (contact person David Thomas at david.thomas@birdlife.org.uk ) for the period March 2006 – December 2007 to the tune of Euros 29,000
Please read also our article about
[URL=http://www.bushdrums.com/news/index.php?shownews=1387]Musambwa Island[/URL]
