The African Wildlife Leadership Foundation

The Fund’s support for the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation (AWLF) reflects its interests in both international relations and environmental conservation. Its first grants, in 1964, funded the construction of a dormitory at Tanzania’s College of Wildlife Management and a wildlife education program in Uganda. In the late 1960s, the Fund began to recognize that East African countries contained natural habitats of world significance, and urgently needed trained specialists to manage game and interpret the value of parks. But in addition to wildlife protection, the Fund’s support for AWLF training activities aimed to enhance the region’s economy by increasing tourism to the parks, thereby fostering commerce. Ultimately, the Fund’s involvement in East Africa’s growth process enabled it to transfer the model to other areas, in particular West Africa, where it had conducted technical assistance programs since the 1950s. In 1969, the RBF helped fund the construction of a West African School for Training Wildlife Specialists. AWLF President Russell Train later joined the RBF board.