“All these buildings you see are funded by UWA revenue,” said Denis Mahangi, the officer in charge of Buliisa Health Centre III, as he began our interview by expressing gratitude to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) for its revenue-sharing program benefiting communities near National Parks and other protected areas.

Muhangi made the statement during a field visit to the Murchison Falls Conservation Area by Uganda Wildlife Honorary Officers, who were assessing conservation projects and the well-being of people living near the park’s borders.

Twenty years ago, UWA launched the Revenue Sharing project targeting communities vulnerable to human-wildlife conflicts. Since then, the program has provided financial support to communities around all Uganda’s protected areas.

The funds, distributed as conditional grants, are channeled through district local governments down to the parish level. This process follows the Uganda Wildlife Act cap 315, which requires that 20% of park entry fees be given to neighboring communities as conditional grants. The goal is to promote community development, encourage conservation support, and reduce conflicts between humans and wildlife.

Buliisa district, which borders Murchison Falls National Park, faces significant challenges from human-wildlife conflicts that threaten both people and animals. As a beneficiary of the revenue-sharing scheme, one notable investment in the district is the Bugana Health Centre III in Buliisa sub-county.

According to Mahangi, the health center serves over 1,000 patients monthly. Although it primarily functions as an outpatient facility—with maternity services being the exception—they sometimes have to admit other patients in the maternity wards due to a lack of alternative health centers nearby.

“Admitting other patients into the maternity ward isn’t ideal, but we often have no choice. You can’t turn away a patient who clearly needs care. Even what we have is courtesy of UWA and we thank them sincerely. We hope in the future, they will provide more funds to help build additional facilities, including staff housing,” Mahangi added.

Fred Lukumi, the Buliisa district chairperson, explained that although revenue sharing funds come with restrictions, through dialogue they have been able to redirect some funds intended for livelihood projects toward capital projects that benefit more people. They found that infrastructure like schools and health centers benefits everyone and is easier to monitor compared to livelihood initiatives.

Lukumi emphasized, “As long as the fund’s objectives are met, there should be flexibility in how the budget is allocated, we have done that and we have been successful, everyone can see what revenue sharing funds are doing.”

In the 2024/2025 financial year, the Uganda Wildlife Authority distributed a total of UGX 10,214,142,122 (ten billion, two hundred fourteen million, one hundred forty-two thousand, one hundred twenty-two shillings) in revenue-sharing funds to district local governments surrounding Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, Kibale National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Districts around the Murchison Falls Protected Area received UGX 3.15 billion, those neighboring Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) and Rwenzori Mountains National Park received UGX 1.54 billion while districts adjacent to Kibale National Park received UGX 1.19 billion. Kisoro district received UGX 111,089,938 from Mgahinga National Park, and UGX 2.019 billion was given to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP).

Throughout the year, a total of 172 Revenue Sharing projects were monitored across various Protected Areas (PAs) to evaluate their implementation status and adherence to revenue sharing guidelines.

A review of revenue sharing implementation during the last quarter of the previous financial year revealed strong performance and completion rates across community projects. A total of 42 projects were reviewed, comprising 5 Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) mitigation projects, 8 livelihood enhancement initiatives, 14 school-related interventions, and 15 community development projects. Monitoring results indicated that 99% of the projects were fully completed, while 1% remained in progress. This reflects UWA’s commitment to ensuring that revenue sharing funds directly benefit communities neighboring protected areas through practical and sustainable interventions.

UWA Executive Director Dr. James Musinguzi stated that the Authority remains dedicated to supporting communities around the parks, not only through the revenue sharing program but also via other community conservation efforts. These include Conservation Awareness Campaigns that engage the public and local communities to keep them informed about important developments in wildlife conservation, improving community livelihoods through resource access, and direct support activities for selected community members under various livelihood programs, often implemented in partnership with other stakeholders and corporate social responsibility.