Publications & Reports

Kabiranyuma swamp is one of the rarest afromontane swamp habitats in Uganda. The swamp is a major source of water for the Kabiranyuma Gravity Water Scheme that supplies water to over 21,000 people around Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The Institute of Tropical forest Conservation-Ecological Monitoring Programme together with the Development Through Conservation of CARE are monitoring the impact of the water scheme on the ecology of the swamp and sustainability of water extraction from the swamp respectively.

Fire has been one of the main management challenges and is considered one of the major long-term threats to forest biodiversity in Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks.

In June, July and August 2000 fire outbreaks occurred the two parks. During September 2000 we carried out a survey of the burnt areas, which aimed at documenting the burnt sites and extent of damage caused by the fires. This was done as part of a long term monitoring programme to advise park managers about what could be done to prevent, halt or decrease incidences of fire outbreaks.

Worldwide, extensive tracts of tropical rainforests are burnt during El Nino droughts. Severe droughts have occurred previously without causing such extensive fires. This extensive burning is a result of forests becoming more fire-prone after disturbance mainly by logging.

This report describes the weather patterns of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park using data collected at ITFC from Ruhija. Two climatic parameters were used to describe the weather patterns at Ruhija and these are rainfall and temperature. The two have been chosen because they have profound influence on the distribution of plants and animals and can easily be interpreted. We used the conventional rain gauge and the maximum-minimum thermometer to measure the two climatic parameters over a 13-year period (1987-1999).

Elephants’ preference for certain habitats of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is discussed in relation to seasonality in plant production. Bamboo forest is favoured during the wet seasons because of the presence of young bamboo shoots. Chrysophyllum dominant mixed forest around Mubwindi Swamp is the best available habitat, especially during the dry periods

UGANDA CONTINUES TO WITNESS THE RAPID LOSS AND DETERIORATION OF ITS NATURAL RESOURCE BASE (FORESTS, WILDLIFE, FISHERIES, GRAZING, SOIL AND WATER) AND, THEREFORE, ITS OPTIONS AND CHANCES FOR LONG-TERM, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. At present,

This study was undertaken under the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) involving three partner states of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. The collaborative transboundary framework of programs, plans and activities is aimed at conserving the network of Protected Areas (PAs) in the Greater Virunga Landscape (GVL).