Celebrations International Forest Day in the world this week brought in an
opportunity to dedicate some thoughts to the forests in Uganda. In our
neighboring countries like Kenya politicians pondered for the past 5 years finding
efforts to restore the Mau Forest, and others, to their crucial functions as
water towers. In Tanzania illegal logging is now a greater problem than
poaching, and that is out of control as it is, and the seizure of a freight
train last week packed with illegally-logged timber shows how deep the
collusion has reached, when entire railway trains can be converted into
ferrying the loot.
Rwanda is a shining example in preserving nature and forestry, where Nyungwe
Forest is a national park and jealously guarded and protected, and where
Gishwati’s tourism potential will in a few weeks’ time be revealed in a
breaking news article, paying tribute to those in the “land of a thousand
hills” who have the foresight to protect their forests as sources of water,
medicinal plants, and to store carbon emissions and use them sustainably for
green ecotourism activities.
On this day,
it is once again Mabira
which has caught my attention, as reports keep emerging of continued illegal
logging deep inside the Mabira forest, now a growing problem thought worse than
the ill-considered move to turn a quarter of the forest into a sugar
plantation. The forest is recently starting to develop its tourism potential,
slowly but surely, and the construction of a RainForest Lodge in Mabira has
become a focal point and an encouragement of forest tourism, from where cycling
and hiking trips can be arranged with ease. Opposite the turn off to the lodge
is, a few hundred meters down the track, the forest’s ecotourism center,
established by the National Forest Authority, from where some of the hikes
start and where mountain bikes are available for hire, for those who come
without them and then suddenly get into the mood for a ride through the forest
under ancient trees.
Robert, the Secretary to the Mabira Forest Integrated Communities
OrganiZation, was recently quoted in the local media as having said: “It is
part of the rich cultural heritage of Mabira” before adding that though the
history of Mabira is locked up in mysteries, the legendary stories have been
told over generations. In the last 5 years, according to Robert, the Small
Grants Program under the United Nations Development Program has invested
US$70,000 to help harness the tourism potential at Griffin Falls and also
promote community development.
“Mabira has an immense tourism potential,” added Robert saying that there
are many tourism products waiting to be harnessed.
Only two years ago a new species of primates was discovered and confirmed by
experts and the list of birds, butterflies, and a range of other mammals, of
trees, medicinal plants, shrubs, and orchids is extensive, belying the fact
that the forest is so close to the country’s capital of Kampala and are open to tourists on a
safari in Uganda hence nearly 29,000 hectares of the forest serve as the green lung of Kampala,
often overlooked, often denied, but nevertheless so, maintaining that crucial
balance of carbons released by society’s modern lifestyle and industrial
emissions and carbons captured in the trees.
The added function as a water tower is equally important, as the River Nile
and the River Sezibwa both drain from it, benefitting water levels in Lake
Victoria.
The loss of forest cover in Uganda is massive and has increased in recent
years, largely attributed to unscrupulous politicians promising land to their
constituents in return for their votes, and this has led in other parts of the
country to hundreds of deaths when landslides consumed entire small villages,
built by people illegally entering Mt. Elgon Forest National Park and refusing
to leave despite such tragedies. Similar reports of illegal forest occupation
come from Kibaale District and elsewhere in the country. Again, recent media
reports now call the issue of the environment a matter of national security and
the following article copied below speaks volumes of where Uganda is heading:
Environment a security matter
Although the country’s collective Vision for 2025 talks about, a “Prosperous
People, Harmonious Nation, Beautiful Country,” little is being done to secure
the environment. And because of this Uganda is losing its forest cover at a
rate of 2% annually amounting to 892,000 hectares.
According to FAO, countries like Rwanda where the forest cover is increasing
have improved in their policies, laws, and invested more for foresters to
engage the local population to conserve nature and plant trees.
Godber Tumushabe, the head of Advocates Coalition for Development and
Environment points out that the ecological integrity, particularly the
environment that drives the county’s food basket and the forests, together with
wetlands that feed water bodies with water should be placed at the same level
as state security.
“Poor people without resources and hit by environmental disasters are ungovernable,”
says Tumushabe.
Change of land use is not a wise option
While the Mabira giveaway to the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL) is
being considered to address the sugar shortage in the country, a study on the
economic valuation of Mabira shows that such a proposal is a miscalculation.
But if SCOUL increased its productivity to match Kakira and Kinyara then the
expansion of the sugarcane scheme into Mabira would not arise, according to a
new report.
The report entitled “Economic Valuation of 7,186 hectares of Mabira Central
Forest Reserve” proposed for the land use change or outright degazettement,
saying if SCOUL produces at Kakira’s rate of productivity then the demand for
land would reduce to 5,496 hectares.
SCOUL’s demand for land could reduce further to 4,988 hectares if SCOUL
produces at 120 metric tons per hectare as proposed by a study by the Africa
Development Bank.
Another scenario is that SCOUL could also improve its sugarcane conversion
from 8.4 to 10 like Kinyara. If this is achieved, the land demand could reduce
from 7,186 hectares to 6,036 hectares.
By increasing the productivity of land as recommended by the African
Development Bank study together with increased sugar conversion, SCOUL’s demand
for additional land could reduce by 5,038 hectares leaving an outstanding need
of only 2,148 hectares. This, according to the report, could be obtained
elsewhere and Mabira be left alone.
The report was done by a team led by Dr. Yakobo Moyini (R.I.P) as the lead
researcher four years ago. The study was commissioned by Nature Uganda, a
non-government organization and partner of BirdLife International.
Other researchers included a biodiversity specialist, an agricultural
economist, a forest inventory specialist, a natural environment economist, and
a policy analyst.
Apart from the results of the economic analysis, the report questions why the
government, “appears to place an apparently greater focus on SCOUL, the least
efficient firm in the sugar industry.”
This, among many other media reports and scientific contributions from
forestry experts and researchers goes to show what important role Mabira has to
play, and yet, under the cover of darkness but increasingly often in bright
daylight are lorries emerging from the forest loaded with freshly-cut timber,
widening the cleared areas invisible from the main road through Mabira but
visible very clearly from the air.
International Forest Day should mean something, here in Uganda in
particular, as we claim the name, “The Pearl of Africa,” but it takes political
will and backbone on one side and halting forest giveaways which send the wrong
signals and encourage wood poachers on the other. Tourism is a big business now
in Uganda and it depends overwhelmingly on intact nature, and intact forests,
birds, wildlife, and reptiles found across the country.
When nature is destroyed, tourism will collapse alongside it, and when
tourism collapses our economy will be on the brink, too, oil and gas or not,
unless we will happily ever after live in a wasteland where food and water and
fresh air can no longer be taken for granted.
NFA, according to well-informed sources on the subject, are shy to lock
horns with the power that be, and while off the record express their vehement
opposition to what is happening to Uganda’s forests, hardly dare to stand up to
the appointing authority, draw a line in the sand, and tell politicians to dare
cross and then face the full force of the law. Hence, NFA officials have a good
inkling of what is going on vis-a-vis illegal logging but have to tread on
eggshells instead of mobilizing and leading the cavalry to the sites in
question, taking those found into custody and charge them in court, while at
the same time going for the financiers and middle men, just like it should be
done with poachers of elephant.
Is it too much to ask to protect our still relatively intact nature for
future generations or are we today mortgaging the future of our children’s
children with irreversible destruction? Time will tell – I hope you hugged a
tree on International Forest Day, or better planted a few.
