Mbale – Uganda has opened its first regional wildlife education centre outside Entebbe, ending a 70-year-plus journey for students and families in Eastern Uganda who faced long, costly trips to access conservation learning.
The Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre was launched by Vice President Jesca Alupo, who said the facility anchors tourism as one of four sectors to drive Uganda’s GDP to $500 billion.
“So today we are here to assert one of the sectors, and that is tourism development,” Alupo said. “Today’s occasion marks an important milestone in Uganda’s conservation and tourism development journey.”
For decades, wildlife education was centered at Entebbe Wildlife Education Centre. “Distance and cost have limited access for many Ugandans, particularly school-going children,” Alupo said. “The establishment of this centre represents a deliberate effort to decentralise conservation education.”
She therefore urged leaders to mobilise children from Kenya and across Eastern Uganda to visit. “It would be so beautiful for them to just cross over with the children from Bungoma to this wildlife education center,” the vice president said. “We shall speak to the Iteso, the Jaluo, the Kalenjin, the Samia, the Pokot and the Turkana. This is our wildlife centre.”
Minister of State for Tourism Suzan Nakawuki called the launch “a milestone” and said tourism is key under the government’s tenfold growth strategy. “Tourism creates jobs, generates foreign exchange, and supports local enterprises,” she said. “But tourism depends on conservation. Without wildlife, there is no wildlife tourism.”
Nakawuki said the centre brings services closer to wananchi. “The people of the Eastern region no longer have to travel all the way to Entebbe because that service has been brought close to the people.”
UWA Executive Director Dr James Musinguzi said the centre is part of a plan to decongest Entebbe Zoo and regionalise conservation education.
“This is the first of its kind since 1952, when Entebbe Zoo was formed,” he said. “When people get closer to these animals, they get connected. Through that, they act to protect these animals.”
He added that the centre is already creating jobs. “Farmers will supply food from their gardens, and that resonates with putting people in the money economy.” Gulu and Kyenjojo centres are next.
The Umukuuka of the Bamasaaba, Jude Mike Mudoma, said the centre “democratizes knowledge.”
“We are assuring that the child of a peasant farmer in the foothills of Mount Elgon can walk into a world-class facility, look into the eyes of majestic wildlife, and understand their role in the ecosystem without needing a budget for a cross-country trip,” Mudoma said.
He also unveiled a project to make synthetic colobus monkey skins for Kadodi ceremonies to stop poaching. “By manufacturing realistic, durable, and culturally respectful synthetic skins, we will eliminate the market for poaching live colobus monkeys,” he said. “No animal has to die for their culture.”
Alupo acknowledged that Uganda’s wildlife is “an economic necessity” and called on managers to source food locally so the economy of Bamasaaba benefits. “It is very important for the children to physically come here and learn the characteristics of these animals and birds,” she said, sharing how monkeys once snatched crisps from her child’s hand at Entebbe.
She pledged to deliver the Umukuuka’s message to President Museveni.
The Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre is now open to the public.
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