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