Across protected areas, forests, and conservation institutions in Uganda, women have taken on critical roles in protecting wildlife and stewarding ecological knowledge. This shift reflects not a symbolic gesture but a structural realignment in how conservation is practised.
Women now lead ranger patrols, oversee health interventions in gorilla populations, manage wildlife education in rural districts, and negotiate land use between park boundaries and agricultural zones, signifying their huge role in conservation within Uganda.
These roles were once reserved for a different demographic. Today, they are filled by individuals whose influence often begins at the household and extends into national strategy.
This article documents how Ugandan women are shaping conservation outcomes, not just through passion or presence, but through measurable impact, professional expertise, and systems thinking.
You will see how their work challenges assumptions, supports ecological recovery, and stabilises communities living at the edge of conservation zones.
If you are mapping the future of African conservation policy, this is one area you can’t afford to overlook.
Historical Context – The Roles of Women in Conservation within Uganda
Before the 1990s, formal conservation in Uganda was heavily male-dominated across all sectors.
Institutional structures such as the Uganda National Parks Board and the Forestry Department recruited rangers, wardens, and field technicians almost exclusively from military or paramilitary backgrounds.
Women’s participation, when it occurred, was concentrated in clerical, hospitality, or auxiliary roles. Cultural norms and education gaps reinforced these patterns, limiting entry into wildlife science or enforcement careers.
Between 1995 and 2010, structural reforms implemented by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), combined with post-conflict education recovery efforts, opened new pathways for women.
The emergence of private conservation organisations, tourism-focused NGOs, and veterinary education programs introduced female students to applied wildlife science for the first time.
Although leadership appointments remained rare, professional training programs and donor-funded conservation fellowships slowly began to shift the demographic landscape.
Today, Ugandan women occupy executive positions in veterinary conservation, anti-trafficking units, sanctuary management, and ecotourism governance.
Their roles are not recent experiments but rather outcomes of institutional reform, persistence, and realignment of career pathways across two generations.
If we are to evaluate their work seriously, we must first recognise the structural shifts that made that work possible.
Profiles of Leading Ugandan Women in Conservation
Gladys Kalema‑Zikusoka
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka was born on January 8, 1970. She grew up in Kampala, Uganda. She earned a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from the Royal Veterinary College (University of London).
Gladys then obtained a Master of Veterinary Science from North Carolina State University and a certificate in Non‑Profit Management from Duke University. Later, she earned an MBA in Global Business and Sustainability.
Roles and Key Projects
In 1996, she became Uganda’s first wildlife veterinary officer, a role that would later evolve into a position at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
She founded Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in 2003, partnering with Lawrence Zikusoka and Stephen Rubanga. The organisation focuses on the intersection of wildlife health, human public health, and community welfare in areas surrounding protected areas.
Key programs:
- Gorilla health monitoring (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park), including disease surveillance for intestinal parasites and scabies in gorillas, which are linked to human and livestock health.
- Promotion of family planning and primary healthcare in villages adjacent to gorilla habitats to reduce the transmission of zoonotic diseases.
- Gorilla Conservation Coffee, a social enterprise established by CTPH around 2015, helps local coffee farmers gain access to the international market, providing them with income that benefits their communities and reduces pressure on wildlife due to poverty or disease risk.
Measurable Outcomes
- Mountain gorilla population in Bwindi: When she began leading conservation efforts, Bwindi’s gorilla count was approximately 300; by the late 2010s, it had increased to around 460.
- Community health improvements: reduction in disease transmission from humans to gorillas (e.g., through interventions in sanitation, hygiene, and livestock health), although exact percentages depend on the area and project.
Recognition and Leadership Influence
- Awards include the Whitley Gold Award (UK) in 2009. Wikipedia+1
- UNEP Champions of the Earth for Science and Innovation in 2021.
- EarthCare Award by the Sierra Club in 2018.
- Named in the BBC 100 Women list in 2023.
Margaret Kasumba
Margaret Kasumba has served within the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) since 2004. She undertook paramilitary training spanning six months as part of her preparation for enforcement roles within UWA.
Positions and Responsibilities
- She is the first woman to lead the Law Enforcement Division of UWA. In this role, she supervises all UWA ranger forces, oversees the management of weapons and ammunition, and heads the Special Wildlife Crimes Unit.
- She also leads operations to curb wildlife crime across Uganda, including poaching, the illegal trafficking of flora and fauna, and related offenses.
Professional Challenges and Influence
- The paramilitary training she underwent was rigorous; she has stated that it shaped her readiness for field enforcement.
- Her leadership in a historically male-dominated domain has encouraged greater female participation within UWA’s enforcement branches. Kasumba has spoken publicly about being one of the few women when she applied, but has seen more women emerge in leadership roles under her tenure.
Recent Developments and Milestones
- In 2024, she was featured in the media spotlight as the first woman to head UWA’s Wildlife Crime Unit, marking a historic shift in law‑enforcement leadership in Uganda.
- Her role includes coordinating anti-poaching operations, leading ranger patrols, and managing response strategies to wildlife crime incidents.
Caroline Asiimwe
Dr Caroline Asiimwe is a Ugandan veterinarian and conservation scientist. She holds a Master’s degree in Veterinary Science from the University of Edinburgh.
She also studied at Makerere University, where she did public health work alongside her veterinary training.
Roles and Key Projects
She has worked as the Conservation Coordinator at the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Western Uganda for several years. Her work encompasses research on chimpanzee health, community engagement, the impacts of snare injuries, and data-driven planning for forest and wildlife management.
In 2017, she won the TWAS-Samira Omar Innovation for Sustainability Prize for her contributions to conservation through science, particularly involving local communities in the preservation of forests and wildlife.
Measurable Outcomes & Research
Asiimwe has published research on maternal cannibalism among chimpanzees in two populations, as well as studies on parasite prevalence in chimpanzees injured by snares.
Her interventions around Budongo Forest include strategies to reduce dependency on forest resources by local communities, engaging ex-poachers as eco-guards, and rescuing and rehabilitating injured chimpanzees.
Recognition & Influence
In addition to the TWAS prize, she was awarded the Presidential Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2024, recognising her contribution to conservation in Uganda.
Her profile is frequently featured in Ugandan veterinary and conservation forums, where she also speaks on the importance of transdisciplinary approaches, integrating veterinary medicine, public health, ecology, and community livelihoods.
Lilly Ajarova
Lilly Ajarova was born in Uganda in 1970. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology at Makerere University in 1993.
She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Hotel and Tourism Management from the International Institute of Tourism and Management, Austria (1996), an MBA from the Eastern & Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI) and Maastricht School of Management (2003), and in 2021 received an Honorary Doctorate in Tourism & Hospitality Management (Honoris Causa) from Commonwealth University, London.
Roles and Key Projects
From 2005 to 2019, she served as Executive Director of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust, which manages Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary on Lake Victoria. Under her leadership, the sanctuary grew in influence, improved standards of care for rescued chimpanzees, and implemented community conservation programmes.
On January 10, 2019, she was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB). She held that position until March 2025.
Achievements, Measurable Outcomes
As CEO of UTB, she led the rebranding and promotion of Uganda with the slogan “Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa.” This included developing the destination’s image, policy alignment with Uganda Vision 2040, and increasing visibility in international tourism markets
During her tenure at Chimpanzee Sanctuary, she oversaw significant growth in the organisational budget (estimated at a 400 percent increase over five years), the establishment of the Ngamba Chimpanzee Endowment Fund, and innovation in community-based conservation, including the incorporation of payment for ecosystem services (PES) projects into national policy frameworks.
Recognition & Influence
She has received multiple awards, including the Diamond Jubilee Medal (2024) and the Conservation Champion Award by the Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust (2023), among others.
Her appointment in 2024 as Senior Presidential Advisor on Tourism positions her to influence national tourism and conservation policy.
Mechanisms Enabling Women’s Impact in Conservation
Women’s conservation leadership in Uganda does not occur in isolation. A series of enabling mechanisms, including legal reforms, international partnerships, academic pipelines, and institutional hiring practices, have supported their entry and performance in this field.
These mechanisms vary in scope and effectiveness, but together they provide the operational conditions under which women like Lilly Ajarova and Caroline Asiimwe have achieved measurable results.
The following components are among the most influential.
1. Legal and Institutional Frameworks
Uganda’s 1995 Constitution and the Uganda Gender Policy (2007) guarantee equality and inclusion in environmental decision-making.
The Wildlife Act (2019) also references inclusive governance, empowering communities and local actors, many of whom are women, to participate in wildlife protection and sustainable resource management.
Under the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities, conservation bodies, such as the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), follow internal gender mainstreaming policies.
For example, UWA’s Strategic Plan 2020–2025 outlines initiatives for gender-inclusive hiring, leadership training, and implementing equal pay standards in project assignments.
2. Donor-Backed Capacity Building
International funders, including the World Bank, USAID, GIZ, and UNDP, have directly supported the development of women-focused conservation capacity. Notable initiatives include:
- USAID/Uganda Biodiversity for Resilience (B4R): Focuses on women-led resource governance and wildlife crime reduction through community-based monitoring in northern and western Uganda.
- UNDP’s Inclusive Conservation Pilot (2021–2024) offers technical training to women involved in forest patrols, climate adaptation planning, and biodiversity inventories.
These partnerships often offer scholarships, leadership mentorships, and research grants earmarked explicitly for women pursuing careers in ecological sciences and fieldwork leadership.
3. Academic and Professional Pathways
Makerere University’s School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences, and College of Veterinary Medicine have become incubators for female conservation professionals.
Since 2015, enrollment data show that women now account for more than 45 percent of postgraduate students in conservation biology, ecological monitoring, and wildlife health.
Beyond university programs, institutions such as the Uganda Wildlife Research and Training Institute (UWRTI) and the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda actively sponsor female field researchers and rangers through competitive internships and early-career placements.
The long-term goal is pipeline development into agencies such as UWA, the National Forestry Authority (NFA), and private conservation trusts.
4. Field Deployment and Promotion Structures
Historically, conservation fieldwork in Uganda leaned heavily toward male-only deployment, particularly in ranger operations and anti-poaching units. However, between 2017 and 2023, UWA began implementing structural reforms:
- Adjusted physical fitness assessments to reflect field realities rather than traditional combat metrics.
- Introduced gender-sensitive field housing and menstrual health support in remote outposts.
- Fast-tracked women into leadership roles within enforcement units, e.g., team leads in Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, and Kibale National Parks.
Women now constitute over 28 percent of field-based conservation staff within UWA, according to internal HR reports from 2022.
5. Community Integration and Indigenous Knowledge
Programs such as the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tacare Approach and the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Community Rangers Initiative have prioritised female leadership at the village level.
Women often act as forest monitors, indigenous knowledge carriers, and conservation educators, roles that are now formalised with training, stipends, and performance evaluations.
In areas such as Budongo and Kibaale, female-led household livelihood programs have been integrated into conservation action plans, including the adoption of agroforestry, sustainable fuel use, and the establishment of youth conservation clubs.
Barriers and Challenges Facing Women in Conservation Leadership
Gendered Perceptions of Fieldwork
Conservation field roles are still viewed by some institutions and communities as masculine, limiting female ranger recruitment, especially in protected areas near Karamoja and Kidepo.
Unequal Access to Mentorship and Networks
Women in entry-level roles often lack access to the informal professional networks that can accelerate promotions, grant access, and provide opportunities for field research.
Work-Life Conflict
The structure of multi-day patrols, remote deployments, and irregular working hours presents complications for women with domestic responsibilities. Few institutions offer flexible frameworks to accommodate this type of arrangement.
Sexual Harassment and Safety Concerns
Reports from the Uganda Wildlife Authority and NGO field audits confirm instances of harassment and unsafe conditions during deployment, particularly in co-ed ranger posts lacking adequate oversight.
Limited Representation in Policy and Science Leadership
While women are visible in community programs and field health, they remain underrepresented in ecological modelling, conservation finance, and national policy decision-making forums.
Conclusion
Women now operate at critical intersections of Uganda’s conservation ecosystem: leading strategy, guiding implementation, and bridging the gaps between policy, science, and community response.
Their growing presence reflects an intentional shift in how conservation understands participation, equity, and long-term impact.
However, institutional presence alone does not constitute transformation. While initiatives by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and grassroots programs have made progress, more deliberate structural adjustments are still needed.
Financial inclusion, field-level autonomy, gender-responsive technology, and succession planning remain thin across many conservation sectors.
If you are reading this from within the industry, perhaps as a policymaker, donor, or researcher, then consider this your brief. Uganda’s protected areas will not survive solely on enforcement.
They will need knowledge held in mothers, scientists, rangers, and educators who, until recently, had to wait to be invited. That wait is over. Now, the institutions must catch up.
