Nature Conservation in Uganda's Tropical Forest Reserves IUCN - THE WORLD CONSERVATION UNION Founded in 1948, IUCN — The World Conservation Union — is a membership organisation comprising governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), research institutions, and conservation agencies in 120 countries. The Union's mission is to provide leadership and promote a common approach for the world conservation movement in order to safeguard the integrity and diversity of the natural world, and to ensure that human use of natural resources is appropriate, sustainable and equitable. Several thousand scientists and experts from all continents form part of a network supporting the work of its Commissions: threatened species, protected areas, ecology, environmental strategy and planning, environmental law, and education and communication. Its thematic programmes include forest conservation, wetlands, marine ecosystems, plants, the Sahel, Antarctica, population and natural resources, and Eastern Europe. The Union's work is also supported by 12 regional and country offices located principally in developing countries. THE IUCN FOREST CONSERVATION PROGRAMME The IUCN Forest Conservation Programme coordinates and reinforces activities of the IUCN members and Secretariat which deal with forests. The Programme focuses on the conservation of species and ecological processes, and on investigating and promoting sustainable use of the resources of these forests. The Programme includes international and national policy initiatives and strategies as well as field projects addressing selected problems in managing the world's most biologically significant tropical forests. These selected projects put the World Conservation Strategy into action by reconciling the requirements of conservation with national development and the needs of people living in forest areas. Special emphasis is given to the development of compatible uses for buffer zones around national parks and reserves. IUCN develops its positions and policies on the basis of the concerns and information communicated by members, trends identified by monitoring activities, and the feedback from numerous field projects. Data on species of plants and animals, and on forest sites which are important for biological and ecosystem conservation, are held by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK. This series of publications from the Forest Conservation Programme, in conjunction with regular meetings, enables IUCN to communicate policies and technical guidance to governments, major international institutions, development planners, and conservation professionals. The Programme works closely with development assistance agencies, governments and NGO's, to ensure that conservation priorities are adequately addressed in their activities. The Forest Conservation Programme receives generous financial support from the Government of Sweden. THE IUCN COMMISSION ON ECOLOGY The IUCN Commission on Ecology (COE) serves as the Union's source of technical advice for translating knowledge of ecological processes into practical action for conservation, sustainable management and restoration, in particular of areas degraded by human action. The IUCN programmes on Forest Conservation, Marine Conservation and Wetlands are under the umbrella of the Commission on Ecology. Commission members serve on advisory committees and in working groups associated with these programmes. The IUCN Tropical Forest Programme Nature Conservation in Uganda's Tropical Forest Reserves by Dr Peter C. Howard WWF Project Leader WWF - The World Wide Fund for Nature IUCN - The World Conservation Union Forest Department, Ministry of Environment Protection,Uganda 1991 Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK with the financial support of WWF-International. Copyright: (1991) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorised without prior permission from the copyright holder. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: Howard, P.C. (1991). Nature Conservation in Uganda's Tropical Forest Reserves. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xvii + 313 pp. ISBN: 2-8317-0085-X Printed by: Unwin Brothers Ltd, Woking, Surrey, UK Book design by: Peter Howard, with assistance from the Communications Unit, IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya Cover design by: James Butler Cover photo: Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes at food tree: Peter Howard Illustrations by: Peter Howard Available from: IUCN Publications Services Unit, 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 ODL, UK or WWF Regional Office for Eastern Africa, P.O. Box 62440, Nairobi, Kenya or IUCN Communications Division, Ave du Mont Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland The designations of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or WWF concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views of the author expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN or WWF. Contents Page Chapter One: Introduction 1. Preamble 1 2. Country setting 2 3. Man and resources 4 4. The role of forestry in the national economy 6 5. The distribution and extent of forest cover 6 6. Forest types 7 7. Forest policy 10 8. Forest protection and the regulation of resource use 11 9. Present status of forest management 13 Chapter Two: Forest Wildlife Resources 1. Introduction 17 2. Research methods 18 2.1 Country-wide comparisons of the importance of different forests for wild species conservation 18 2.2 Patterns of species distribution 20 2.3 Community-level work on tree species richness 20 2.4 Evaluation of the status of threatened species 21 3. Results and discussion 21 3.1 Indicator species and their distributions in Uganda's forests 21 3.2 The relative importance of different forests for species conservation... 21 3.3 Relationships between forests 23 3.4 Community-level tree species richness 25 3.5 Some international comparisons 25 3.6 Status of threatened species 28 4. Chapter summary 30 Chapter Three: Forest Management and its Impact on Wildlife 1. Introduction 33 2. Present status of the principal reserves 33 3. Forest resource utilization 37 3.1 Timber harvesting 37 3.2 Conversion to agricultural use 43 3.3 Hunting 46 3.4 Harvesting of minor forest products 48 4. The impact of resource exploitation on wildlife communities 48 4.1 Habitat alteration 48 4.1.1 Impact of habitat disturbance on primate communities 51 4.1.2 Impact of habitat disturbance on bird communities 53 4.1.3 Impact of habitat disturbance of rodent communities 54 4.1.4 Impact of habitat disturbance on plant communities 54 4.2 Selective removal of single species 57 4.2.1 Effects of pitsawing 57 4.2.2 Effects of hunting 57 5. Chapter summary 58 v Chapter Four: Planning a System of Protected Areas 1. Introduction 60 2. Categories of protected area 60 2.1 National Parks 60 2.2 Game Reserves and Animal Sanctuaries 62 2.3 Nature Reserves 63 2.4 Forest Parks 64 3. Location and status of existing Nature Reserves 65 4. Expanding the protected area network 68 4.1 Basis of a strategy for network expansion 68 4.2 Application of the strategy 71 5. Chapter summary 78 Chapter Five: Integrating Forest Conservation into District Development: A Case Study 1. Introduction 80 1.1 Study area 81 1.1.1 Geomorphology, geology and soils 81 1.1.2 Climate 83 1.1.3 Ecology 85 1.1.4 Land use 87 1.1.5 People 88 1.1.6 Land tenure and agricultural systems 89 1.1.7 Infrastructure and services 91 1.1.8 Economy 91 2. Survey and Research methods 94 2.1 General surveys 94 2.1.1. Soils 94 2.1.2 Forests 94 2.2 Area sampling 94 2.2.1 Patterns of land use 95 2.2.2 Crop production 95 2.2.3 Trees 95 2.2.4 Sociological issues 95 2.3 Specific studies 96 3. Survey and research results 96 3.1 Land use in the public lands 96 3.2 Land availability 96 3.3 Problems and constraints to agricultural development 97 3.4 Status of Bwamba's forests 97 3.5 Environmental awareness and attitudes to forest conservation and management 100 3.6 Availability and use of wood products 103 3.7 Tree planting on private land 105 3.8 Use of non-wood forest products 107 3.9 Acceptability and use of family planning facilities 108 4. Conclusions and recommendations 109 4.1 Population management 111 4.2 Agricultural development 112 4.3 Forest management 113 4.4 Forestry extension services 114 vi 4.5 Development of alternative energy sources/energy conservation measures 114 4.6 Wildlife protection measures 114 4.7 Environmental education 115 4.8 Land reform 115 5. Broader implications of this study 116 6. Chapter summary 116 Chapter Six: Outlook and Recommendations 1. Introduction 118 2. Outlook 118 2.1 Forestry support programmes 118 2.2 The possible impact of forestry support programmes on the natural forest 121 3. Recommendations 123 3.1 Previous recommendations 123 3.2 Recommendations of this report 123 3.2.1 Recommendations aimed at instituting forest management systems that recognise the preservation of biodiversity as a primary management objective 124 3.2.2 Recommendations aimed at protecting suitable forest areas from all forms of extractive use 126 3.2.3 Recommendations aimed at alleviating the pressure for wood products from remaining areas of undisturbed