Uganda’s Chimpanzees Under Attack
It’s very unfortunate that due to massive deforestation in some of Uganda’s forested regions, prime habitant for chimpanzee is being destroyed.
Among the regions is the River Kafu, which is about 180 kilometres (110 miles) long, which is part of a vast chimpanzee habitat covering areas of Budongo and Bugoma forest reserves, and a few several unofficial protected areas.
It’s very saddening that of late, this region is losing a significant portion of valuable chimpanzee habitat, according to the Global Forest Watch data showing at least 20% of the forest cover along the river Kafu has disappeared since 2001.
The whole region has been a habitat to at least 5,000 endangered eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), with about 600 inhabiting the Kafu basin. Chimpanzee tracking form a significant part of Uganda’s tourism industry, which contributes about 5.5 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Besides the Budongo-Bugoma-Kafu region, chimpanzees in Uganda can also be found at Queen Elizabeth national park, Toro-Semliki wildlife reserve, and Ngamba Island chimpanzee sanctuary.
The cause of this bad situation according to the deputy director for conservation at the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Charles Tumwesigye, this loss of forest cover is largely due to population pressure on the land. A significant amount of forested land in this region has been cleared by migrant communities from southwestern Uganda.
“A lot of migrants have come from the southwest and they just clear forests for agriculture,” Tumwesigye said. “People easily move there because they say it is free land. That is causing a huge problem.”
Additionally, according to Tumwesigye, much of the land along the river is privately owned. That amount of control allows locals to fell trees whenever population pressures compel them to clear more land for cultivation. However, humans aren’t the only apes that live in the basin and depend on its forests.
“Chimps have been there from time immemorial but because of pressure from the increasing human population, people are cutting all the forests to create land for cultivation and settlement,” Tumwesigye said.
Forested areas along with rivers provide especially good habitat for chimpanzees. A survey conducted in Uganda in 2012 found the density of fruit trees to be three times higher along rivers than further inland, which, researchers believe, leads to the higher numbers of chimpanzees observed living near rivers. However, fewer and fewer chimps are found as their habitat is destroyed. Matthew McLennan of Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, who has studied western Uganda forests, lamented “the extent of recent, ongoing and seemingly unregulated forest clearance” in the area.
Massive deforestation destroying prime chimpanzee habitat
River Kafu, which is about 180 kilometres (110 miles) long, is part of a vast chimpanzee habitat that includes Budongo and Bugoma forest reserves, as well as several unofficial protected areas.
However, this region is losing a significant portion of valuable chimpanzee habitat, with Global Forest Watch data showing at least 20 per cent of the forest cover along the Kafu has disappeared since 2001.
The region as a whole accommodates at least 5,000 endangered eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), with about 600 inhabiting the Kafu basin. Chimpanzees form a significant part of Uganda’s tourism industry, which contributes 5.5 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Besides the Budongo-Bugoma-Kafu region, chimpanzees in Uganda can also be found at Queen Elizabeth national park, Toro-Semliki wildlife reserve, and Ngamba Island chimpanzee sanctuary.