SILVERBACK PROJECT OVERVIEW

Pool Road, Department of Wildlife and Aquatic Animal Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security, Makerere University, P.O.Box 7062 Kampala. Tel. +256 (0)701033427/779220730

E-mail: silverbackgorillaprojectug@gmail.com

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1. It was formed in 2013 and got registered under the Uganda Companies Act, Cap 85 as a Company limited by Guarantee (without Share Capital) 
2. The name of the Company is SILVERBACK PROJECT LIMITED (SPL)
3. The Registered Office of the Company is situated in Uganda, where currently it carries out activities, but hopes to cover the other mountain gorilla range countries
4. It is administered by Associate Professor John Bosco Nizeyi (retired from University), who has 30 years of working with mountain gorillas in terms of health interventions, research, capacity building and nurturing younger local veterinarians to manage the health of Great Apes and other primates in the region
5. The main objectives for which the Company is established are:-

1. To promote conservation of wildlife with emphasis on the great apes throughout the entire home range while addressing all ecosystem issues that sustain co-existence of wildlife, humans, and livestock.
2. To promote research initiatives at the interface of ecosystem, animal, and human health that address local conservation challenges and emerging diseases.
3. To promote and form an alliance of interdisciplinary researchers that addresses emerging conservation challenges and emerging global health issues. 
4. To monitor the population of wildlife outside protected areas by addressing genetic flow pattern and human-wildlife conflicts and designing appropriate conservation strategies.
5. To promote community/employee health approaches within communities in and around protected areas in Africa.
6. To promote population, health, and environmental concepts towards enhancement of community livelihoods and health with linkages to conservation.
7. To promote and safeguard the welfare of wildlife and their conservation including those in captive facilities for the benefit of entire public.
8. To promote responsible tourism approaches that will minimize negative impacts to the environment and conservation efforts.
9. To provide information and advice to all its members on all matters relating to wildlife veterinary profession and practice in Uganda with a view to promoting the advancement of wildlife veterinary medicine in Uganda. 
10. To harness and coordinate the expertise of its members to offer excellent goods and services where needed. 
11. To encourage its members to actively participate in wildlife research, initiate research agendas for professional development and protection of wildlife and benefit of all Ugandans.
12. To initiate and/ or participate in wildlife intervention programs and projects.
13. To participate in both captive and free-ranging wildlife health care and management.

Silverback Project Profile:

1. It was formed in 2013 and got registered under the Uganda Companies Act, Cap 85 as a Company limited by Guarantee (without Share Capital) 
2. The name of the Company is SILVERBACK PROJECT LIMITED (SPL)
3. The founders and office bearers are as follows:

4. The Registered Office of the Company is situated in Uganda,
5. The physical address being: Pool Road, Department of Wildlife and Aquatic Animal Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security, Makerere University, P.O.Box 7062 Kampala.
6. The contact person is: Associate Professor John Bosco Nizeyi, Tel. +256-701033427/779220730,E-mail:nizeyij@gmail.com, silverbackgorillaprojectug@gmail.com jbnizeyi@gorilladoctors.org 

7. The main objectives for which the Company is established are:-

1. To promote conservation of wildlife with emphasis on the great apes throughout the entire home range while addressing all ecosystem issues that sustain co-existence of wildlife, humans, and livestock.
2. To promote research initiatives at the interface of ecosystem, animal, and human health that address local conservation challenges and emerging diseases.
3. To promote and form an alliance of interdisciplinary researchers that addresses emerging conservation challenges and emerging global health issues. 
4. To monitor the population of wildlife outside protected areas by addressing genetic flow pattern and human-wildlife conflicts and designing appropriate conservation strategies.
5. To promote community/employee health approaches within communities in and around protected areas in Africa.
6. To promote population, health, and environmental concepts towards enhancement of community livelihoods and health with linkages to conservation.
7. To promote and safeguard the welfare of wildlife and their conservation including those in captive facilities for the benefit of entire public.
8. To promote responsible tourism approaches that will minimize negative impacts to the environment and conservation efforts.
9. To provide information and advice to all its members on all matters relating to wildlife veterinary profession and practice in Uganda with a view to promoting the advancement of wildlife veterinary medicine in Uganda. 
10. To harness and coordinate the expertise of its members to offer excellent goods and services where needed. 
11. To encourage its members to actively participate in wildlife research, initiate research agendas for professional development and protection of wildlife and benefit of all Ugandans.
12. To initiate and/ or participate in wildlife intervention programs and projects.
13. To participate in both captive and free-ranging wildlife health care and management.

What we are accomplishing:

1. Funded 2 master’s students to carry out research for their dissertations in wildlife
2. Have done extension of conservation education to Makerere Yellow Primary School; and get pupils to participate in wildlife day celebrations every 1st day of March each year 
3. Have supplied a wildlife conservation curriculum to wildlife clubs in schools around Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area
4. Before COVID-19 pandemic, there was a threat of Ebola spill over from DRC into Uganda, and the project was preparing a One Health field simulation in the Ruth Keesling gardens at Makerere to train field personnel and admit tourists for pre-gorilla/chimpanzee tracking sensitization, so as not only minimize stress to great apes but to be aware of bio-risk and biosafety issues