Uganda’s forests
Uganda’s forests, the National Forestry Authority (NFA) manages all 506 Central Forest Reserves in Uganda, covering 6.3% of the country’s total land area. These reserves consist of natural forests and forest plantations, with legal activities including timber harvesting, re-planting, and tourism.
List of Uganda’s Forest Reserves in Uganda:
The district is divided into several parts, including Budongo, Bugoma, Buhungiro, Bujawe, Bundekiki, Bwambara, Echuya, Fort Portal, Fumbya, Guramwa, Ibamba, Ihimbo, Itwara, Kabale, Kagandi, Kagura, Kahurokobwire, Kakasi, Kahoro, Kakumiro, Kitechura, Kitony Hill, Kyamugongo, Kyamurangi, Kyanthue, Kyahara, Mataa, Mataa, Nyabigoye, Nyabiku, Nyabyeya, Nyamurangi, Nyamakere, Oruha, Rukara, Rukungiri, Kasyoha – Kitomi, Rushaya, Ruzaire, Rwengeye, Rwengiri, Rwensama, Rwensambya, Wambabya, Kangombe, Kasaato, Bweizigoro, Kasenyi, Kaweri, Soroto, Kasaato, Bweizigoro, Taala, Luwunga, Nkeera, Kitekyura, South Imaramagambo, Rubabo, Kebisoni, Kagogo, Rumira, Kasagala, Kasana, Kajansi, Kadam, Moroto, Nyangea Napore, Akur, Lutoboka, Kampala, Mujuzi, Kumbu, Mbarara, Ntugamo, Arua, Laura, Mt Kei, Mwenge, North Maramagambo, Rwoho, Bogamba, and Nakindiba.
The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, located in southwestern Uganda near the Democratic Republic, is a World Heritage Site with a rich species diversity, including 400 Bwindi gorillas. The park, managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, is accessible only by foot.
History Bwindi Impenetrable National Park boundaries
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a protected area in Uganda, was once two Crown Forest Reserves. It was renamed the Impenetrable Central Crown Forest in 1942 and became the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in 1991, aiming to conserve mountain gorilla species.
Mountains of Bwindi
Kabale town in Uganda’s Kigezi Highlands is home to a forest corridor connecting two forest blocks. This park, a vital water catchment area, features Precambrian geology and a dense network of streams, regulating the environment and reducing soil erosion and flooding. Kabale plays a crucial role in ensuring stream flow during the dry season.
Biodiversity Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Vervet Monkey in Uganda’s forests.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a rich, diverse African park with over 220 tree species, 50% of Uganda’s tree species, and 100 fern species. The park’s ecological importance is attributed to its large elevation variations and habitat types, as well as its role as a refuge for species during glaciations in the Pleistocene epoch.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in East Africa is a vital site for conserving the Afromontane fauna, a rich community of over 350 bird and butterfly species, and 120 mammal species, including mountain gorilla, chimpanzee, and African elephant. The park’s fish species are not well-known.
Mountain gorillas eating a root in the Uganda’s forests.
The Bwindi population, comprising nearly half of all mountain gorillas globally, is housed in a park that has modestly increased since 2006. Despite threats like poaching, disease, and habitat loss, the park houses the Bwindi population, which climbs trees for food and nests in understory trees.
Uganda’s Bwindi forest, once a forest reserve, now faces challenges due to high population density and subsistence agriculture among the poorest people. The Batwa, an ethnic group heavily reliant on the forest, suffer from wildlife damage and human deaths, despite receiving compensation and land rights.
The Budongo Forest
Lake Albert, located on the escarpment northeast of Uganda’s capital Kampala, is a significant site for the National Forestry Authority (NFA), known for its abundance of East African mahogany trees and chimpanzee population, covering 82,530 hectares.
Setting and conservation
The NFA is working to protect Lake Albert, a 435 km2 forest dominated by Waisoke, Siba, and Waibira streams, from human activities like poaching and mutilation, ensuring sustainable development.
Wildlife
Budongo, a forest in Uganda, is home to over 360 bird species, plant species like Senna spectabilis, 20 amphibian species, 292 butterflies, 130 moths, 465 trees, and 24 mammals, including bush elephants and chimpazees. The forest supports various tree species, including large buttressed mahoganies. The yellow-footed flycatcher is unique to Uganda, while other species are found in other East African forests. Eco-tourists use trails to track chimpanzees.
The Royal Mile – Budongo Forest
Vernon Reynolds, Jane Goodall, and Adriaan Kortlandt conducted a study on chimpanzees in Budongo, Uganda, in 1962. The Budongo Conservation Field Station, established in 2005, was funded by the RZSS at Edinburgh Zoo. The team has since studied chimpanzee communication in the 21st century, contributing to the conservation of Uganda’s tropical forest reserve.
Mabira forest
Mabira Forest, located in Buikwe District, Uganda, is the Secondary part of the Mabira Forest Reserve, home to endangered species like Lophocebus ugandae.
Geography
The Mabira central forest reserve lies north of Lake Victoria. The reserve covers an area of 30,038 ha. It lies on gently undulating country, with many flat-topped hills separated by wide stream valleys. Elevations range from 1070 to 1340 m above sea level. Although Lake Victoria lies close to the reserve’s southern boundary, the forest is drained by streams that empty generally northward into the Victoria Nile. The forest reserve is surrounded by agricultural areas. The reserve completely or partially surrounds approximately 27 settled enclaves.
Ecology
Mabira forest, a secondary forest in the Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic ecoregion, is home to the largest remaining block of semi-evergreen rainforest. Despite human influence, the reserve is home to 315 bird, 312 tree, butterfly, moth, and 23 small mammal species.
Deforestation
In 2007, Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL) announced plans to clear one-third of the Mabira Forest in Uganda for sugarcane plantations. The Mehta Group, jointly owned by the Ugandan government and SCOUL, supported the plan, despite environmental activists’ concerns about endangered species, erosion, and local livelihoods. The Mabira Forest protest resulted in at least three deaths and riots. President Museveni defended the plans, but they were suspended in 2007.
Tourism in Uganda’s forests
Mabira Forest Reserve draws in visitors (nationals and foreigners) who are interested in its natural beauty and diverse flora and fauna. Some of the activities available to tourists include bird watching, wildlife viewing, guided nature walks, camping/picnics, cycling, tracking monkeys, zip-lining and cultural experiences with the local communities. Tourism is a source of r
Mpanga Forest
Mpigi District, Uganda’s Mpanga Forest, a 453 hectare equatorial rainforest, is 37km southwest of Kampala City and is home to the Mpanga Forest Resort since 2018.
Location
Mpigi District, located 37km southwest of Kampala City, is home to the Mpanga Central Forest Reserve, the closest natural equatorial rainforest to the Capital City.
History of the forest.
It was a small patch of natural rainforest that was protected by the Government of Uganda as a scientific research site since 1953. According to its neighboring farmsteads, it belonged to a wealthy family which carried the name Mpanga. It was actually named after the rich family’s son, Mpanga.
Ecology
Mpanga Forest boasts an impressive biodiversity of 500 species of trees, 300 bird species, 97 butterflies, 112 moths, monkeys, and small mammals. The dominant tree species is the hard Celtis, which is surrounded by a community of traditional drum makers who use the forest for firewood, charcoal, and medicinal hubs.
