Our work is premised upon the understanding that whereas indigenous species and habitats are critical for the delivery of nature’s ecosystem services, biodiversity loss and land degradation continue unabated. As in many parts of the tropics, protected areas in Uganda do not adequately meet the scale of the challenge. For many countries, only small proportions of land, lake, or sea area exist in any kind of formal protected area status.

Consequently there is need to turn to non-protected lands, lake and sea area, and to produce workable mechanisms which will stem biodiversity loss and maintain the flow of ecosystem services. This has to involve local communities and new constituencies often not included in the classic conservation paradigm. The need for climate change mitigation and adaptation; and emerging trends of resource overexploitation provide additional impetus for these adjustments.