Budongo Conservation Field Station

Established in 1990, the Ugandan-run Budongo Conservation Field Station (BCFS) is an NGO located in Uganda’s Budongo forest, a large tropical rainforest located in the Albertine Rift, the most biodiverse region in Africa. RZSS are proud to have supported BCFS’ operations since 2005, our longest running conservation partnership to date.

BCFS was originally established in 1990 to study the forest’s population of endangered chimpanzees, making it one of the oldest chimpanzee research sites in the world. Over time, the scope of BCFS’ activities has grown, and the organisation has become a model for implementing evidence-based conservation action alongside cutting-edge research and community engagement, as well as training the next generation of conservation biologists.  

A staff of up to 40 Ugandans are employed by BCFS to execute a range of activities, including studying the forest’s climate, trees, plants, nutrients, chimpanzees, birds and amphibians. As well as gathering important data, the team’s presence in the forest is critical to its protection, discouraging people from entering the forest to illegally hunt animals and fell trees. The staff also includes a snare patrol team who search the forest to remove illegal snares and traps and a veterinary team who treat ensnared animals and monitor the chimpanzees’ health. The field station also regularly hosts national and international researchers who come to Budongo forest primarily to study the chimpanzees. BCFS staff publish their own research in online primatology journal The Perspectives Collective.

A large part of BCFS’ work is community engagement. Much of Budongo forest is bordered by small communities which tend to experience frequent food insecurity. Given their proximity to the forest edge, these households are also vulnerable to crop raiding from wildlife including chimpanzees. Improving welfare in these communities by boosting incomes and reducing human-wildlife conflict is a priority for BCFS. From teaching people to grow crops which are high-value but less attractive to wildlife, providing veterinary care to livestock to helping villages improve sanitation and install latrines, BCFS has a diverse portfolio of outreach and initiatives that aim to benefit local communities and reduce dependence on the forest.

As the human population in Uganda increases and infrastructure for oil extraction is developed, Budongo’s wildlife faces increasing threats. BCFS’ tireless efforts to protect the forest are more important than ever and RZSS are proud to facilitate their work through our continued funding support and partnership.