Save Bugoma Forest

Bugoma Forest Reserve is one of the biologically important reserves in the Albertine region of Uganda. Located in Kikuube district, the Forest Reserve has a conservation value in terms of both species richness as well as providing the function of linking larger forest blocks and hence metapopulations of certain species that require this forest reserve to maintain viable populations (corridor species).

In May of this year, the clearing of 900 hectares of the Bugoma Forest began after a court ruled this swath of land was outside of the protected forest area. As in many other similar cases, the company is promising a higher quality of life for the communities, however, in this long fight, farmers and indigenous peoples, accounting to 5000, have already been violently evicted from their land multiple times in the past 20 years, as they kept fighting for their rights. 

Uganda has seen an increase in land grabbing in the past few decades due to the rich land and access to water, especially in the Albertine region, and other areas near the forest reserves of Lake Albert where Oil and gas have been discovered with Oil activities attracting more land grabbers, It is clear that the new oil sector in the Albertine Graben that has led to the construction of roads and other facilities in and around protected areas including forests, national parks, and reserves, wetlands, around lakes and rivers, etc are a major cause attracting all politically, economically and corrupt people to acquire titles and destroy protected areas. This is what is called the oil curse and it is unfortunate that it has started in Uganda even before the commencement of oil drilling and refinery.

For decades Agribusiness has been the main purpose of land grabbing and clearing in these areas. Big pieces of land are grabbed to develop profitable crops like sugarcane, palm oil, rice, sunflower, Tea or to be used for intensive animal farming. 

We have collected twitter feeds showing how desperate ugandans are in support of Bugoma Forest and Ugandans Love for nature .We shall continue to update the articles as event unfold

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