"Founded in 1995, the Albertine Rift Conservation Society is a regional non-governmental organization officially registered in the UK as a charity and company and in Rwanda and Uganda as an international NGO. Originally ARCOS focused on the mountainous region of the Albertine Rift and gradually expanded its activities to Africa Great Lakes and African Mountains. In 2012, ARCOS received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions in recognition of its achievements in promoting joint conservation and development activities; in 2023, One Tree Planted honored ARCOS as the first and longest-standing landscape restoration partner in Africa.

ARCOS, internationally acknowledged as Africa’s primary mountain hub organization, promotes the integrated management of biodiversity and ecosystem services, facilitates the deployment of mechanisms to assess and address climate change, and empowers grassroot organizations to participate more effectively in environmental management and building resilience to climate change.

ARCOS plays a leading role in Africa in landscape restoration with over 40,000 hectares and 56,000 household farmers involved today. The unique integrated community approach (ARCOS’ BEST Approach) puts priority on sustainable grassroots institutions, integration of biodiversity, sustainable business and livelihoods solutions with revolving community fund mechanisms. The sustainability pathways devised and demonstrated by ARCOS will continue to showcase how effective policies, respect for nature and strong stakeholder participation can benefit ecosystems and communities."

Albert Mountain Award 2024