Rwengeye Central Forest Reserve is a protected tropical high forest in the Kiryanga and Pacwa subcounties in Kibaale District in Western Uganda.[1][2][3][4] It covers an area of 329 hecatres (3.24 km²).[2][5][3][4][6] It is operated by the National Forestry Authority (NFA).[1][6] Its WDPA ID is 39999.[6] It was declared a forest reserve in 1932.[6]

Setting and structure

The forest protects the banks of River Pachwa and it is part of the biodiversity corridor connecting Murchison Falls. The forest is mainly used for ecological and environmental purposes.[5]

It is located at these coordinates: 1°06′12″N 31°00′25″E / 1.1032°N 31.0069°E / 1.1032; 31.0069 [7]

Wildlife

This forest is home for primates including mangabeys, red-tailed and black and white colobus monkeys, and chimpanzees[8][9] and birds.[10]

Conservation status

NFA signed an agreement to let some community based organisations carry out beekeeping within the forest reserves; for example Pachwa Linda Ebyobuhangwa Association (PLEA) and Kikonda Tulinde Ebyobuhangwa Association (KTEA) were allowed to start their operations in the Rwengeye Central Forest Reserve in June 2012.[3]

A project that used a payment scheme to create incentives for the local communities was used so that they would be able to conserve and restore habitats for chimpanzees.[8]

In 2015, the National forestry authority ordered the encroachers, who had cleared some forest and created a trading centre, to vacate the forest land but they refused.[1]

In 2021, Umoja Conservation Trust organised Albertine Conservation Week in the Albertine districts such as Kibaale District where Bunyoro farmers were urged to plant more trees through educating them about the dangers of environmental destruction.[11]

Threats

Encroachment, illegal lumbering, charcoal burning, cash crop farming such rice and tobacco, substantial in-migration.[5][8][1][11][4][12]

See also

  1. Albertine Rift montane forests
  2. Bwamba Forest
  3. Kashoya-Kitomi Forest Reserve
  4. List of Central Forest Reserves of Uganda

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Encroachers defy NFA orders to quit forests". Monitor. 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  2. 1 2 THE FORESTS ACTS. Uganda: Uganda Online Law Library. p. 11.
  3. 1 2 3 Reflections and Recommendations from the Collaborative Forest Management National Dialogue. Uganda: African Union of Conservationists (AUC) Kampala Uganda. 2017-02-27. p. 10.
  4. 1 2 3 "Spotlight on forest encroachment in western Uganda". New Vision. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  5. 1 2 3 "3.2 - Sensitivity of forests". EIN Uganda Clearinghouse. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Protected Planet | Rwengeye". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  7. ↑ "OpenStreetMap". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  8. 1 2 3 Varty, Nigel (2015). Terminal Evaluation of the Project: "Developing an Experimental Methodology for Testing the Effectiveness of Payment for Ecosystem Services to Enhance Conservation in Production Landscapes in Uganda" (GEF project ID: 3682) (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme. pp. 22, 105.
  9. ↑ "Lilly Ajarova: The 'mother' of orphaned chimpanzees". Monitor. 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  10. ↑ "Uganda, hub for birds on the move". Monitor. 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  11. 1 2 "Bunyoro farmers urged to plant more trees". Monitor. 2021-06-19. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  12. ↑ "Executive order No3: Museveni bans charcoal trade, guides on the Balaalo". Monitor. 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
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