Environmental Impacts of Oil Palm Plantations in Kalangala(PDF)

Environmental impacts of oil palm plantations in Kalangala Mary Namaganda Summary Principal Assistant Curator, Makerere University Herbarium, Land use changes in the Ssese include two critically endangered College of Natural Sciences, islands, Kalangala, have created a mammals, the Ssese island sitatunga PO Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda shift from six land use types (forests, or bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvestris) [email protected] small scale agriculture, grasslands, and the endemic Lake Victoria swamp forests, wetlands and wooded rat (Pelemys isseli), and eight Red grasslands) to eight, including built List butterfly species of which four up areas, and oil palm plantations. are critically endangered (Acraea The sudden rise in built up areas now simulate, Epitola miranda, Euptera covering 10% of the land was almost elabontas, Neptis puella), two entirely at the expense of grasslands. endangered (Teratoneura isabellae, By 2006, large areas of forest, Thermoniphas togara) and two grassland, wetlands and wooded vulnerable (Pentila incospicua, grasslands had also been cleared Thermoniphas plurilimbata). There for oil palm plantations, resulting are also five endemic or endangered in loss in biodiversity. Kalangala plant species: Casearia runssorica, district is known for its unique Lasianthus seseensis, Lagarosiphon Pitadeniastrum-Uapaca forests that ilicifolius, Uvariodendron magnificum, support a high diversity of birds and Sabicea entebbensis. Besides and butterflies, but accurate data is habitat destruction, soil degradation deficient and biodiversity surveys are has been reported, and agrochemical recommended. Threatened species pollution of lake waters. 22 — Oil palm plantations in forest landscapes: impacts, aspirations and ways forward in Uganda Introduction fringe of trees round the edge” (Langdale-Brown et al., 1964). On Buvuma island, the main vegetation types Kalangala forests are unique and support species include Celtis-Chrysophyllum medium altitude moist that are suffering pressure from growing populations, semideciduous forest, moist Hyparrhenia grass savanna, clearance for agriculture, and extraction of wood for and undifferentiated semideciduous thickets. timber and fuel. Then in 2000, the government planned to convert 100 km² of the 296 km² of Bugala island Recent land use change in Bugala from natural vegetation to oil palm plantations, with 65 km² as nucleus estate to monoculture plantation has caused biodiversity loss as owned by BIDCO and the remaining 35 km² earmarked a result of habitat destruction, and that has extended into for planting by outgrowers. However, a project of this central forest reserves. But BIDCO and partners refute magnitude in such a fragile ecosystem should have this, claiming that protected forests are better preserved aroused environmental concerns at the outset. There are than before because of new incomes from oil palm, and alternatives though, as the unique species assemblage that farmers are turning away from activities that degrade offers an opportunity to explore the potential for forests (Basaalidde, 2012). But this logic is questioned ecotourism. But to do so, it is essential to maintain because only 1,770 people out of 40,000 are actually biodiversity, and as such, the environment in its entirety involved in oil palm growing. And fishing used to be the must be conserved. To date, reports by environmental main economic activity, but with the current ban, fishermen groups contradict those of BIDCO and partners regarding are turning to farming. Yet most cleared land is already the extent of environmental degradation. Environmental cultivated, adding pressure on remaining forests as jobless impacts of developmental projects tend to pose more people clear new areas for charcoal burning and growing threats to the environment than benefit, if negative impacts crops. can be reduced through mitigation measures. Further encroachment on remaining forests may lead to Oil palm expansion has led to forest degradation, the extinction of some endemic and critically endangered resource conflict and food insecurity because it has left species recorded from central forest reserves where much less land for growing food crops. For oil palm and biodiversity studies have been focused, confirming the forest conservation to co-exist, enrichment planting with critical need for their conservation. There is a need to native species in degraded parts of forests and in other generate species maps for endemic, rare and threatened degraded vegetation types should be promoted. Already, species, locating their presence and to create awareness Oil Palm Uganda Limited (OPUL) has done so in some among communities who currently do not know their of the 200 m lake buffer areas that had been degraded conservation value. In addition, efforts must be made to by lumbering and charcoal burning (Basaalidde, 2012) conserve rare and endemic species ex-situ, to maintain but much more needs to be done. This review collated some germplasm for re-introduction into the wild in case information on conflicting reports of environmental impacts wild populations do not survive, such as by collecting of oil palm production in Bugala island, including a seeds for storage at the National Plant Genetic Resources consultative workshop including key stakeholders from Centre and cultivating live specimens in botanic gardens Kalangala and Buvuma districts. in Entebbe or Makerere University. The black and white colobus monkey (Colobus guereza) Historical changes is already believed to have been eliminated from Bugala island (Richard Ssemmanda, 2017, pers. com.) probably According to Langdale-Brown et al. (1964), the due to over-hunting and habitat destruction, attributed vegetation of Bugala island half a century ago consisted to oil palm which exposed the species to hunting. of a mosaic of Themeda-Loudetia grass savannas Although known to be resilient to habitat degradation, and Pitadeniastrum-Uapaca medium altitude moist they can disappear entirely from forest patches that are evergreen forests. In Uganda, such savannas occur on subjected to high levels of disturbance (Fashing, 2002). skeletal hill soils, which are characteristically nutrient The Ssese islands are moderately diverse in bird species poor and dominated by Themeda triandra, Loudetia (89 species), the majority of which (45%) are forest kagerensis and Loudetia simplex. Such grasslands are dependent, hence clearing or fragmenting forests displace widespread in Uganda, but the Bugala forest type is such species. Other important birds are restricted range unique to the Ssese Islands, distinguished from mainland species and migrants which have breeding grounds in forests by the abundance of Uapaca guineensis and the islands. Of the few small mammals, the Lake Victoria other dominant trees such as Piptadeniastrum africanum, rat (Pelemys isseli) and the Ssese Island sitatunga Maesopsis eminii and Canarium schweinfurthii (Thomas, (Tragelaphus sylvestris) are listed as critically endangered 1941). However, by the mid-1900s, forest patches had (WCS, 2016). Sometimes call a bushbuck, this member already been cleared for agriculture “leaving just a of the antelope family is unlike other sitatunga in being a Oil palm plantations in forest landscapes: impacts, aspirations and ways forward in Uganda — 23 forest and not wetland species (Kityo, R. mammologist, impacts that influence the distribution and abundance of 2017, pers. com.), and as such, its existence is threatened aquatic life. If the lake is polluted, water will not only be if the clearing of natural forest continues. Worse still, on unsafe for human consumption but will also lead to the the premise that the population is healthy, the Uganda loss of biodiversity. For example, the endangered water Wildlife Authority issued a hunting concession which plant, Lagarosiphon ilicifolius that is known from only two coupled with poaching, further aggravates the threat. localities in Uganda could become extinct in the country Local people report that this sitatunga is now only rarely because the other locality in Lake Mulehe is already seen. There is a relatively rich diversity of butterflies in silting up. Fish diversity in Lake Victoria is known to have Ssese, with 63% of them being totally forest-dependent decreased due to over fishing, predation and pollution species, 19% of restricted range, with four critically (Balirwa et al. 2003, Hecky et al. 2010), and the situation endangered species. Little documentation on the diversity will be further aggravated if oil palm activities pollute the of reptiles and amphibians is noted except for one lake further. Loss of species, particularly fish, from Lake regarding the sebal python, though the conservation status Victoria, will affect the overall ecosystem functioning and was not established due to lack of data (Both Ends, 2015). also have socio-economic impacts. Establishing oil palm plantations on forest land releases Soil, water and air pollution carbon and so contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases, and mature oil palm plantations contains much Besides habitat destruction, soil degradation has also been less carbon than fully grown tropical forest. Also, in the reported, and pollution of soil and lake water from nitrate case of oil palm, the carbon sinking process is broken fertilizers, agrochemicals and effluent from the palm oil every 25 years and the stored carbon is released back mill factory is feared. Spraying of chemical sprays must into the atmosphere because few long-lasting

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