Planning Conservation Areas in Uganda's Natural Forests

ORYX VOL 31 NO 4 OCTOBER 1997 Planning conservation areas in Uganda's natural forests

Peter Howard, Tim Davenport and Fred Kigenyi

In the late 1980s the Ugandan Government decided to dedicate a fifth (3000 sq km) of the country's 15,000-sq-km forest estate to management as Strict Nature Reserves (SNRs)for the protection of biodiversity. The Forest Department subsequently undertook a 5-year programme of biological inventory and socio- economic evaluation to select appropriate areas for designation. Sixty-five of the country's principal forests (including five now designated as National Parks) were systematically evaluated for biodiversity, focusing on five 'indicator' taxa (woody plants, birds, small mammals, butterflies and large moths). A scoring system was developed to compare and rank sites according to their suitability for nature reserve establishment and 11 key sites were identified, which, when combined with the country's 10 national parks, account for more than 95 per cent of Uganda's species. In order to satisfy multiple-use management objectives, the Man and the Biosphere model of reserve design is being applied at each forest, by designating a centrally located core area as SNR, with increasingly intensive resource use permitted towards the periphery of each reserve and adjacent rural communities.

Background (plant 'kingdoms') than any other country in the continent (White, 1983). Much of this bio- Straddling the equator between "Zaire and diversity is concentrated in the nation's Kenya, Uganda is a comparatively small land- forests, where it is at risk from encroachment, locked country of some 241,139 sq km, of mismanagement and conflicting land-uses. which one-fifth is inland water. Despite its modest size, the country encompasses a great variety of habitats, including deciduous Protected areas in Uganda Acacia-Commiphora bush, lowland evergreen rain forest, montane forest, snow-clad moun- Three principal categories of protected area tain peaks, open water and swamps. This di- are recognized in Uganda: National Parks, versity can be attributed to the country's Game Reserves (recently renamed as Wildlife location in a zone of overlap between ecosys- Reserves) and Forest Reserves. All support tems typical of East African savannah and predominantly unmodified natural systems Central African rain forest (Howard, 1991), and are legally protected against any human and altitudes ranging from below 600 m at the settlement, cultivation or livestock grazing. bottom of the Rift Valley to over 5000 m at the Many have, nevertheless, suffered from un- top of the Rwenzori Mountains. Uganda ranks controlled hunting and /or selective removal second in Africa (and ninth in the world) for of important timber trees, particularly over its mammalian diversity, has more than half of the past two decades (Kayanja and Douglas- the birds and a third of the butterflies listed for Hamilton, 1989; Howard, 1991). Most of the the continent (Howard, 1991; Pomeroy, 1993; game and forest reserves were designated Davenport and Matthews, 1995), and a higher during the first half of this century, when proportion of Africa's plant phytochoria Uganda was under British Protectorate

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 30 Sep 2021 at 09:25:18, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.1997.d01-124.x P. HOWARD ETAL.

administration. The game reserves were estab- with 20 per cent designated as Strict Nature lished to protect large savannah mammals for Reserves (SNRs) and 30 per cent as low- hunting and cropping, while the forest re- impact-use Buffer Zones. The remaining 50 serves were set up to protect fragile mountain per cent of the estate is to be managed primar- catchments, and to provide timber and other ily for the sustained supply of quality tropical forest products. The original designation of hardwoods and other forest products. These many of these areas was made possible by broad allocations are to be achieved by apply- land clearance associated with sleeping sick- ing the principles embodied in the Man and ness epidemics in the early part of the century the Biosphere concept of reserve design, in (Hamilton, 1984; Rogers and Randolph, 1988; which management zones are defined around Wasawo and Bushara, 1989). The first national a totally protected core (SNR), with zones of parks (Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth) increasingly intensive use located towards the followed in the 1950s, through redesignation periphery of each reserve (Batisse, 1985; and consolidation of former game reserves, Howard, 1991). The 20-30-50 per cent allo- where particular concentrations of 'charis- cations are broad national objectives, which matic mega-fauna' and other attractions pro- can be achieved by designating particular re- vided a basis for tourism development. serves, or parts of reserves, to particular uses, The Forest Department's jurisdiction covers according to each site's characteristics. about 15,000 sq km of land in about 700 forest It is important that decisions concerning reserves scattered across the country (of which land allocation are implemented on the basis about 3000 sq km now have dual status as of a comprehensive knowledge of the re- Forest Reserve and National Park). More than sources under consideration within each re- two-thirds of Uganda's vegetation types (as serve. However, prior to this programme very described by Langdale-Brown et ah, 1964) are few data were available on the suitability of represented in these reserves, including forest, different areas for particular uses, and infor- woodland and open savannah communities. mation on the biodiversity value of Uganda's The reserves are managed to satisfy a variety forests was extremely limited. Species lists of of purposes including: the protection of fragile selected plant and animal taxa have been com- environments such as mountain catchments; piled for a number of sites, but these have provision of environmental services; protec- generally arisen incidentally as a result of tion of biodiversity; production of timber and other ecological investigations. Thus it was other forest products; ecotourism; and meet- considered important to collect new field data ing the subsistence needs of local human com- on the biological values of the various reserves munities (Howard and Davenport, 1996). A so that objective comparisons could be made few forest nature reserves were established in and priorities established for the selection of the larger forests during the 1950s, although it the new nature reserves. is now evident, with the development of conservation science and the benefit of hindsight, that these were not fully representative and Methods were too small to remain viable in the long- term. Clearly, considerably larger areas were An unparalleled programme of biological in- in need of preservation. ventory work was undertaken by the Forest Department between 1991 and 1995. With so many reserves in Uganda and the usual Rationale financial and technical constraints, it would have been impossible to investigate all sites, Against this background, a decision was taken so a decision was taken to survey (1) those by the Ugandan Government towards the end areas most likely to sustain viable populations of the 1980s to manage 50 per cent of the forest of most species in the long term (namely the estate primarily for environmental protection, larger reserves exceeding 50 sq km), and (2) 254 © 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (4), 253-264

,17

200

Kilometres

1 Mt Elgon 18 South Busoga 35 Itwara 51 Bwezigola - 3unaa 2 Mt Rwenzori 19 Bwindi 36 Aswa River 52 Kasana - Kasamby a 3 Budongo 20 Sango Bay 37 Kabuika - Maj 53 Opit 4 Kalinzu - Maramagambo 21 Mor.:ngole 38 Kazooba 54 Nsowe 5 Kibale 22 Timu 39 Era 55 Echuya 6 Moroto 23 Kagombe 40 Maruzi 56 Mafuga 7 Labwor Hills 24 Rom 41 Kijanabolola 57 West Bugwe 8 N>angea - Napore 25 Kasagala 42 Wiceri 58 Igwe - Luvunya 9 Bugoma 26 Kilak 43 Kapimpini 59 Kisangi 10 Kadam 27 Luunga 44 Kamusenene 60 Mpanga 11 Kasyoha - Kitomi 28 Bukaleba 45 Zoka 61 Mpigi Archipelago 12 Ml, Kei 29 Nam'-vasa 46 Mujuzi 62 Sesse Islands 13 Mabira 30 Kibeka 47 Lwala 63 Zika 14 Agoro - Agu 31 Taala 48 Matin 64 Jubiya 15 Semliki 32 Rwoho 49 Ogih 65 Lokung 16 Napak 34 Wabisi - Wajala 50 Kitechura 66 Mukono Archipelago 17 Otzi (Forest 33 has not been sampled)

Figure 1. Map of Uganda showing the location of the 65 forests investigated during the inventory programme.

) 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (4), 253-264 255

any smaller reserve in which a particular veg- was to compile as complete a species list as etation type was uniquely represented. possible for each site. Conservation priorities Reserves qualifying under the second of these could then be established by comparing sites criteria were identified at the project planning on the basis of species richness, diversity, stage, when a 'gap analysis' (Scott et al, 1993) rarity and complementarity, using directly was carried out to assess the extent to which comparable datasets. Furthermore, the study the country's vegetation types (Langdale- of specific taxa enabled the identification of lo- Brown et al, 1964) were already represented in calities for species of particular conservation the country's national parks, game reserves concern. and larger forest reserves. An examination of the smaller reserves was then carried out to identify localities where 'missing' vegetation Field sampling types occur, so that these sites could be in- Some ornithological and botanical work was cluded in the inventory programme. initiated in 1991, but it was not until May 1992 Clearly, it would be inefficient to designate that the programme was fully implemented. major sites from the forest estate as SNRs if Eighteen Forest Rangers were selected from the same suite of species is already managed different parts of Uganda and provided with within other existing protected areas. The new over 3 months of intensive field training. SNRs should be part of an efficient national These rangers were then divided between four protected-area system, which avoids un- inventory teams, each comprising two necessary duplication. Ideally, therefore, the botanists, one ornithologist and one mammal- biological inventory programme would have ogist/entomologist, supervised in the field by covered all protected areas, but it was not poss- full-time (graduate) biologists. In carrying out ible to include any of the game reserves or the fieldwork, the broad approach of the in- older savannah national parks. Nevertheless, ventory teams was to explore the full range of the programme provided a comprehensive habitats, altitude and aspect within each for- evaluation of the country's principal forested est, from a number of strategically located reserves, including five now designated as base camps. Sampling techniques for each of national parks. Altogether, 65 forests distrib- the five taxa were based on current recognized uted throughout the country were selected for methods, described in detail elsewhere detailed biological study (Figure 1), represent- (Howard and Davenport, 1996). ing all major vegetation types, and accounting In practice, it is seldom possible to compile for more than 75 per cent of the area of the for- complete lists of species for any given site, est estate. even for the most conspicuous groups of plants and animals. It is therefore necessary to ensure that data collected from different sites Indicator taxa are collected in a way that enables valid stat- A number of taxa were selected for investi- istical comparison. Accordingly, field time gation, based largely on their suitability as was allocated in proportion to the size of each biological 'indicators'. While debate continues forest (thus standardizing as far as possible on over the value of indicators and their capacity sampling) and strict field recording pro- to provide an accurate overall assessment of cedures were maintained so as to track the biodiversity, practical factors compel their use. rate of new species accumulation for each Five taxa, as taxonomically different from one taxon with increased sampling effort. This fa- another as possible, were ultimately selected cilitated later comparison between sites using for study: woody plants; small mammals (five species totals for given levels of sampling families: Cricetidae, Gerbillidae, Muridae, (Magurran, 1987; Krebs, 1989; Prendergast et Myoxidae, Soricidae); birds; butterflies; and al, 1993; Soberon and Llorente, 1993). Return large moths (two families: Saturniidae, visits were made to most forests during 1994 Sphingidae). By sampling these taxa the aim and the early part of 1995 and where possible,

Table 1. Ranking of top 10 Rank Species diversity Rarity value forests for species diversity and rarity value as exhibited by the 1 Kasyoha-Kitomit five indicator taxa Echuya 2 Bwindi Impenetrable*t Rwenzori* 3 Budongot Moroto 4 Kalinzu-Maramagambot Bwindi-Impenetrable*t 5 Kibale* Mafuga 6 Kadam Mt Elgon* 7 Mpanga Budongot 8 West Bugwe Semliki* 9 Mpigi Kasyoha-Kitomit 10 Kabuika-Mujwal'ganda Kalinzu-Maramagambot

* Existing national parks t Forests appearing in both lists

these took place at a different time of year and of Uganda's principal forests for biological involved a different team of inventory conservation, but fell short of establishing rangers, so as to control as much as possible clear site-selection priorities because it failed for these variables. to take into account possible alternative de- The fieldwork was completed in March mands on the same sites, for timber pro- 1995, and it took a further year to complete the duction, local community use, and so on. identification and verification of specimens, Clearly, conflicts of this nature should be and enter the data into a computer. The first avoided when possible. stage of the analysis was then aimed at identi- The next stage of the site-selection process fying 'biodiversity hotspots' - areas with an was, therefore, to evaluate each site for vari- unusually large number of species or concen- ous alternative land uses - such as timber pro- trations of rare species, which would be par- duction, local community use, recreational use ticularly suitable for designation as nature and watershed protection - and derive scores reserves. Each site was scored for biological for each of these criteria. In doing this, scores importance based on a measure of species di- were derived as objectively as possible using versity (relative species richness), and the available data on standing timber volumes, 'rarity value' of the species (based on fre- population census statistics and so on, but quency of occurrence in Uganda's forests, and more subjective assessments ('expert opinion') known Africa-wide distributions; Forest were necessary in deriving scores for certain Department, in prep.) represented within the criteria such as recreational potential (full de- five indicator taxa at each site. As shown in tails are provided in Forest Department, in Table 1, the most biologically diverse sites are prep.). These scores were then combined in a not necessarily those with the highest concen- single statistic used as a measure of each for- trations of rare species, and the biological im- est's overall suitability for designation as Strict portance score gave equal weighting to each Nature Reserve. Thus, the highest scoring of these two criteria. The next stage was to forests are those of high biological value lo- rank all 65 forests in terms of their biological cated in important watershed areas with eco- importance. tourism development potential, where poor timber stocking combines with difficult access and low human population densities in sur- Balancing biological conservation and socio- rounding areas to minimize the potential for economic development objectives land-use conflicts. This ranking process provided an unpre- cedented insight into the relative importance © 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (4), 253-264 257

Table 2. Complementarity Cumulative % of analysis based on representation % of species species of species from the five indicator Site added represented taxa within existing national parks, and additional species to Old (savannah) national parks* (36.9) (36.9)t receive protection within the 11 New (forest) national parkst 40.1 77.0 key new forest nature reserves Budongo 6.1 83.1 Otzi 3.3 86.4 Moroto 2.6 89.0 MtKei 1.1 90.1 Sesse Islands 1.1 91.2 Labwor Hills 0.9 92.1 Sango Bay 0.7 92.3 Kasyoha-Kitomi 0.7 93.6 Nyangea-Napore 0.6 94.2 Kalinzu-Maramagambo 0.5 94.7 Timu 0.5 95.1

* Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley and Lake Mburo t Bwindi Impenetrable, Rwenzori Mountains, Mgahinga, Mt Elgon, Kibale and Semliki £ Figures in parentheses are likely to underestimate the contribution of these parks because no comparable inventory work has been carried out and existing species' lists are probably far from complete

make up the 'minimum critical set' of sites re- Developing an efficient national protected-area quired to protect all species. Of course, in an system ideal world, each species should be protected Scoring forests for nature reserve suitability in at a number of different sites, but the mini- this way provides a reasonably objective mum critical set approach provides a useful means of ranking sites, but has the obvious starting point for protected-area system devel- disadvantage of failing to take into account opment. the extent to which sites of similar rank support similar suites of species. An efficient protected-area system should, as far as possible, Planning management zones for particular sites avoid unnecessary duplication, because any The final stage of the programme involved de- area dedicated exclusively to biodiversity con- tailed systematic vegetation sampling at each servation carries an opportunity cost in terms site to decide on which parts of a forest should of alternative development opportunities fore- be designated for different purposes. The pro- gone. Recognizing this, the next stage of the cedure was based on quantitative enumer- analysis was to investigate the optimum com- ation of vegetation and human use in 0.1-ha bination of sites required to protect the ma- plots distributed systematically on a 450 x 450- jority of species, using complementarity m grid covering the forest. From these plot analysis (Margules et ah, 1988; Johnson, 1995). data, computer-generated maps were derived This method selects the most species-rich site, to show the distribution of individual plant followed by the one which complements it species, timber volumes and human-use vari- best, by adding the most 'new' species. Sites ables. Ultimately these data fields were super- are added to the list in this way until all imposed and analysed to generate optimal species are represented at least once. Such a zoning regimes given clearly defined criteria. list inevitably includes all the sites that support at least one unique species, and these

258 > 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (4), 253-264

The Kyambura River flowing north-west through Kasyoha-Kitomi, the most species-rich forest investigated during the inventory programme (T. Davenport).

Results dividual site profiles are being provided in a Forest Conservation Masterplan (Forest On completion of the inventory work in early Department, in prep). 1995, almost 100 man-years of work had been The 11 key forests were selected primarily carried out, during which 17,600 plant site on the basis of their importance to the devel- records were made, 100,000 trap-nights of opment of a representative national protected- small-mammal work undertaken and 57,000 area system. Each is significantly different large moths, 21,000 butterflies and 14,000 from any of the existing national parks (or birds trapped (Howard and Davenport, 1996; other selected forests) in terms of species com- Forest Department, in prep). The programme position (Table 3) and physical geography has become one of the most comprehensive (Table 4). Three forests are of outstanding im- scientific attempts to select sites for nature portance because they contribute 12 per cent conservation in Africa. A 33-volume of the country's species (Table 2). Of these, Biodiversity Report Series was completed in Budongo is the only true forest, exceptionally September 1996 (Howard and Davenport, rich in rain-forest fauna and flora, and situ- 1996), describing the fieldwork and data col- ated between 700 and 1270 m, elevations not lected from all 65 forests. These reports pro- otherwise represented in the new forested vide a permanent record of the findings as a national parks. Otzi is a dry mountain range basis for later comparative work between overlooking the Nile close to the Sudanese sites, as well as presenting invaluable baseline border in northern Uganda, where many data for long-term ecological monitoring in species typical of White's (1983) Sudanian re- Uganda's forests. gional centre of endemism (which is not rep- Although detailed ecological work had been resented in Uganda's national parks) reach the carried out previously in a small number of southern limits of their ranges. Not long ago, the sites surveyed, the vast majority had not white rhinoceros occurred here, and the re- been the subject of any earlier biological inves- serve is still designated as a sanctuary for this tigation. Many of these forests are located in species. The third of these especially import- remote parts of the country, with difficult ac- ant sites is Mount Moroto, an extinct volcano cess (Figure 1). Not surprisingly, thousands of close to the Kenya border in eastern Uganda, new distribution records from all taxa were which supports many species endemic to the documented (Howard and Davenport, 1996). Somali-Maasai regional centre (White, 1983) Four species of mammal (R. Kityo, pers. in a spectacular environment spanning an alti- comm.), three birds (Matthews et al., 1997), 36 tudinal range of more than 2000 m. No fewer butterflies (Davenport, 1996) and about 30 than three species of trees, 13 birds, three large moths new to Uganda were recorded, mammals, nine butterflies and eight large and a new species of silkmoth awaits descrip- moths are known only from this site in the tion (A. W. R. McCrae, pers. comm.). Ugandan parts of their ranges, and many of these are of international conservation interest The national network of nature reserves (Table 3). identified as a result of this work comprises 11 key forests (Table 4), and c. 28 other secondary Of the other key forests, mention should be sites. Based on available information, at least made of the Sesse Islands in Lake Victoria, one 77 per cent of the species from the indicator of the wettest places in the country. The Lake taxa are represented in Uganda's 10 national Victoria rat Pelomys isseli and the distinctive parks and more than 95 per cent are included butterfly, Acraea simulata, for example, are en- with the addition of the 11 forests listed in demic to these islands. Not far away on the Tables 2 and 4. The full network of protected mainland, the Sango Bay area supports the areas would protect more than 98 per cent of country's only significant area of swamp for- the species belonging to the indicator taxa. A est, a peculiar and distinctive association with more detailed account of the national pro- its own special interest. tected-area-system planning exercise and in-

Table 3. Summary of species and details of unique species of conservation interest from the 11 key forest sites 1997 https://www.cambridge.org/core No. species

Idd Trees and Small Large Unique to site Unique species of O Forest shrubs Birds mammals Butterflies moths (from all taxa) particular conservation interest

u Budongo 465 359 24 289 130 42 Trees/shrubs Ochna monantha (are)

. Colotis halimede (nu) https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.1997.d01-124.x Butterflies Moroto 203 220 22 106 46 36 Birds Hemprich's hornbill (nt) N) Black-throated barbet (nu) Shining sunbird (nt/nu) . IPaddress: ¥ Butterflies Colotis chrysonome (nu) Iolaus jacksoni (nu) Tarucus grammicus (nu)

170.106.34.90 Acraea chilo (nu) Otzi 261 168 21 94 44 10 Butterflies Acraea buettneri (nu) MtKei 229 175 22 126 54 17 Birds Heuglin's masked weaver (vu) Butterflies Euchrysops albistriatus (nu)

, on Sesse Islands 148 100 12 153 38 13 Mammals Pelomys isseli (e)

30 Sep2021 at09:25:18 Butterflies Acraea simulata (e) Kalinzu- 414 374 30 262 97 12 Butterflies Acraea alciopoides (are) Maramagambo Acraea kalinzu (are) Sango Bay 244 317 26 258 94 14 Birds African pygmy goose (vu) Butterflies Belenois theuszi (nu) Andronymus helles (nu) Kasyoha- 376 276 25 237 73 15 Butterflies Anthene lysicles (nu) , subjectto theCambridgeCore termsofuse,available at Kitomi Coenyropsis carcassoni (nu) Labwor Hills 239 139 16 109 43 8 Birds Bush petronia (nu) Butterflies Tuxentius calice (nu) Abantis tettensis (nu) Large moths Imbrasia sp. nov. (ns) Nyangea-Napore 261 154 24 129 9 8 Butterflies Euchrysops cyclopteris (nu) Timu 166 68 12 77 10 11 Butterflies Acraea pudorina (nu)

e, country/site endemic; are, Albertine rift endemic; nt, near threatened; vu, vulnerable; nu, new record for Uganda; ns, new species

lo P. HOWARD ETAL.

Table 4. Descriptions of the 11 key forests for nature reserve establishment

Area Altitude Forest (sq km) (m) Description

Budongo 793 700-1270 Uganda's richest and most economically important mahogany forest; the forested part occupies gently undulating land on top of the escarpment along the Albertine Rift, with extensive grassland and wooded areas on the scarp to the rift valley floor. Contiguous with Murchison Falls National Park. Mt Moroto 483 960-3084 Steep extinct volcanic mountain in the dry Karamoja region of eastern Uganda; wide range of vegetation types from dry semi- desert to closed canopy montane forest above 2000 m. Occupied by the Tepeth people, and seriously affected by tree cutting and livestock damage. Otzi 188 760-1667 High ridge overlooking the Nile along the Sudan border in northern Uganda. Dry Combretum savannah woodland with rocky ridges, steep hillsides, plateaux, ravines, dense riverine forest, bamboo and Protea communities. Formerly inhabited by white rhinoceros. Low-lying riverine areas affected by agricultural encroachment. MtKei 384 915-1332 Extensive area of flat Combretum-Terminalia-Butyrospermum woodland with occasional granitic outcrops and narrow strips of gallery forest along watercourses. Relatively pristine, but subjected to frequent fire and intensive traditional group hunting pressure. Sesse Islands 43 1152-1262 Extensive archipelago of islands in Lake Victoria, the wettest region of Uganda. Dense moist evergreen rain forest on gently undulating terrain interspersed with grassland, Papyrus swamp and human settlements. Forest reserves generally small and widely scattered making protection difficult. Increasingly threatened by timber harvesting. Kalinzu- 584 915-1845 Extensive area of tropical high forest, straddling the escarpment Maramagambo along the eastern side of the Albertine Rift. Much of the drier lower parts protected within Queen Elizabeth National Park, but the important Kalinzu portion on top of the escarpment threatened by operation of a recently rehabilitated sawmill. Sango Bay 151 1160 Scattered blocks of dense Baikiaea-Podocarpus seasonal swamp forest near the Lake Victoria shore; of generally low stature, supporting a peculiar community of species with many Afromontane affinities. Kasyoha- 399 975-2136 Large block of tropical high forest on steeply undulating terrain, Kitomi overlooking the Albertine Rift. Inaccessible and little known prior to this project. Exceptionally diverse. Labwor Hills 437 1050-1925 Isolated group of steep hills rising above the dry plains of north- eastern Uganda; woodland and grassland communities with patches of dry montane and riverine forest on hilltops and along gulleys. Nyangea- 417 1060-2284 Spectacular granitic ridge along the western flank of Kidepo Napore Valley National Park, bordering Sudan in the dry north-eastern corner of Uganda. Remote and little-known, supporting woodland communities and isolated remnant patches of dry montane forest. Timu 117 1700-2020 A shallow wooded basin on the top of the escarpment above Uganda's eastern border with Kenya, with patches of Juniperus dry montane forest. Remote and inaccessible, but affected recently by agricultural encroachment.

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Although the site-selection work has been grated forest-management programme, which completed, only three sites have been the sub- can be readily adapted to accommodate the ject of detailed systematic vegetation plot sam- emerging priorities. The broader forestry re- pling aimed at providing the data necessary habilitation programme (Tabor et ah, 1990; for sound planning of management zones Howard, 1991) has (among other things) im- within individual sites. Itwara and Semliki proved the protection and management of forests in western Uganda were sampled in- many of Uganda's natural forests by re-estab- itially to evaluate, and if necessary modify, the lishing forest boundaries, providing basic technique for subsequent adoption elsewhere. management infrastructure, staff training and Further work was carried out at Kalinzu and logistical support. This work has helped se- Kasyoha-Kitomi, but it soon became apparent cure important sites in the short term, so that that the cost of such intensive sampling was those now identified for nature reserve estab- prohibitive, and difficult to justify. lishment can be developed appropriately. Instead, management zones are now being Continued support is required, however, if planned within the selected key forests, on the the programme is to be implemented fully and basis of observations made during the broader successfully. This must come from govern- species-inventory work. Where possible, a ment, local communities and the international substantial undisturbed core area of each for- donor community. International finance, pro- est, covering the widest possible range of alti- vided through arrangements such as the tude and variety of vegetation types, is being Global Environmental Facility, is essential as a selected for designation as SNR. An important means of offsetting some of the opportunity consideration is the location of natural fea- costs incurred locally when nature reserves tures, such as streams and ridges that can are designated in areas that could otherwise serve as clear internal boundaries between have been used profitably in some other way. management zones. Special consideration is being given to the needs of local people and areas within 2 km of a forest boundary are Acknowledgements generally designated for community use and/ The programme was supported by the EC-funded or sustainable timber harvesting, rather than Natural Forest Management and Conservation Project exclusive nature conservation. (No. 6100.37.42.015) and the Global Environment Facility's Institutional Support for the Protection of East African Biodiversity (UNO/RAF/006/GEF), fi- nanced through UNDP/FAO. A great many people Conclusions contributed to this work and particular thanks are extended to colleagues Michael Baltzer, Chris The nature reserve planning exercise rep- Dickinson, David Duli, David Hafashimana, Isaac resents a major commitment on the part of the Kapalaga, Tony Katende, Robert Kityo, Jerry Lwanga, Roger Matthews, Edward Mupada, Robert Ugandan Government, the international Nabanyumya and Paolo Viskanic, all of whom con- donor community and Forest Department tributed greatly to the management of the pro- staff. It has taken more than 5 years to com- gramme. We are most grateful to Tom Butynski and plete, at a cost of around $US1 million. The Vernon Reynolds for helpful comments on an challenge now is to transform the resulting earlier version of this paper. plans into management programmes that are viable in the long term, beyond the tenure of References foreign aid. Several factors give cause for optimism in Batisse, M. 1985. Action plan for biosphere reserves. this respect. First, because the planning work Environmental Conservation, 12 (1), 17-27. Davenport, T.R.B. and Matthews, R.A. 1995. A was carried out by government, and relates di- wealth of species come to light - Uganda's forest rectly to current policy, it clearly has the biodiversity. Swara, 18 (3), 26-29. necessary political support. Second, it has Davenport, T.R.B. 1996. The Butterflies of Uganda. An been carried out as part of an ongoing, inte- Annotated Checklist. Uganda Forest Department, © 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (4), 253-264 263

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