Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre is the newly established wildlife centre away from the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe. Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre was officially opened on Friday, 12th June 2026, in Mbale town. The opening of this wildlife conservation education centre enlightens the importance of wildlife to the community, to boost the conservation efforts in partnership with the local communities.
The dilemma has always been that you cannot protect what you don’t value or even understand. The Entebbe zoo, or Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, has been at the forefront of transforming people’s views towards wildlife for the good of them and the wildlife.
This move of transforming the eastern region of Uganda into a conservation community bears a broader vision of establishing more facilities across all the regions of the country. Mbale district has long lacked an educational wildlife program. Mountain Elgon National Park is the Mbale district’s major protected area. It, however, lacks specific wildlife species, especially the savannah animals like zebras, lions, leopards, ostriches, and waterbucks, among others.
The locals have long travelled for long distances to other national parks like Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, or Kidepo Valley National Park. Therefore, by bringing this facility to Mbale district, locals have a chance for a more realistic wildlife encounter.
The Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). On the opening of this education centre, the executive director of UWA emphasized the importance of opening this education centre. He further highlighted that this centre is the first of its kind and that others are yet to be established in the regions across the country.
The Vice President of Uganda, who represented the president as the chief guest at the opening of the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre. The vice president was amazed by the establishment of this facility and further assured the government’s continued support for this wildlife centre. The establishment of this wildlife centre in Mbale marks a grand vision that is set to bring awareness of the wildlife to the furthest local communities that may not have a chance of going to spot these wildlife species in the national parks and other protected areas.
How important is the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre?
Several benefits have come with the establishment of the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre. Among these benefits are the following.
Employment opportunities
It is no brainer that the establishment of the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre will create more employment opportunities for the locals. The Uganda Wildlife Authority has a principle of involving the local communities through employment. The employment opportunities that have arisen from the establishment of this wildlife centre.
This includes semi-skilled labour like cleaners and cooks to skilled labour like rangers through the recent recruitment of UWA rangers. Such employment opportunities have helped in the improvement of the livelihood of the locals.
Boost wildlife conservation
The Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre is set to boost wildlife conservation in this eastern region of Uganda. The introduction of wildlife species that are unique to other regions being brought to this region of Mbale affirms that visitors can gain insight into the different wildlife species around Uganda. The locals can also have a chance to learn about the different behaviours of different species.
In turn, this changes the locals’ mindset towards the environment and also species that have long been ignored or even harassed in the community. For instance, the crested crane is a common bird across Uganda, popularly spotted in wetlands. The locals may not have seen these birds as much until a visit to this facility, and learn about them.
Community development
Mbale is set to have an economic transformation following the establishment of the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre. Through this, many businesses, from accommodation facilities where visitors will be staying to hotels and restaurants. This is because visitors would need somewhere to stay and where to eat. This will see a spike in the development of the communities around this wildlife centre. This will increase the community’s revenue generation through taxes that will boost infrastructure like roads, schools, and health centres.
Source of income for the locals
With vast opportunities for employment, locals can earn a source of income. This source of income for the locals will boost their livelihoods and strengthen families’ earnings across the district of Mbale.
Revenue generation
The Uganda Wildlife Authority is a managing entity of the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre. This wildlife centre will generate revenue for UWA that will see the development of infrastructure like schools, health centres, and roads, since UWA gives a certain percentage of its revenue to community development.
Saves the transport expenses of people
Many people and schools have been traveling to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe for educational visits. With the establishment of a similar facility in Mbale, visitors save transport expenses and other logistical expenses by visiting the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre for those close to it.