However, inside this beauty there are a lot of illegal human activities going on that threaten the real existence of this natural tropical rainforest. In fact when you reach inside you just feel like dropping a sob. This is a rainforest covering about 300 square kilometers (29,974 hectares).

in 2007, the government of Uganda attempted to give part of the this beauty, an ecosystem to various animal and bird species to Mehta, a Ugandan- Asian industrialist to grow sugarcanes, this aroused many protests and this wasn?t pushed on. But today, it is now plagued with illegal activities ranging from clearing the land for agriculture to cutting down trees for timber and charcoal burning among others. The only areas that are not being tempered with are those that are in the vicinities of tourists campsites.

This forest is also facing discharge of effluent from sugar and leather tanning industries into River Musamya, which has caused pollution, besides the unregulated hunting of animals and birds such as the crested crane, guinea fowl. Part of the forest was first illegally settled in in 1953.  However, encroachment started again in 1971 to 1985 during which up to 7,000 hectares of the forest was cut down by the encroaches. This is Uganda?s remaining largest forest is home to immense biodiversity, including rare bird species, insects, medicinal plants and is a core water catchment area for Lake Victoria and River Nile, on which government has constructed two hydro power dams.

The forest also plays an important role in regulating temperature as its dense vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in return.
The most degraded areas, according to the report, include Bugule and Lugala compartments where a section was cleared to enable a truck collect illegally cut timber and, in Kiwala area where a farmer illegally cleared the forest to grow marijuana.
When this reporter posed as a charcoal buyer, one of the charcoal burners led him to Buwoola and Sanga inside the forest where mounds of charcoal were burning, with each sack of charcoal costing Shs30, 000.

According to a 2014 Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) report, 90 per cent of Ugandans use biomass (trees) for their fuel needs, ranging from small industries to household use. Such natural resources will continue to face depletion, further escalating the impact of climate change like long drought spells, high temperatures and floods.
The MEMD report indicated that biomass energy demands, especially from trees, may hit 135 million tonnes up from the current 44 million by 2040 and that will further escalate the problem of deforestation for both charcoal and wood.
According to MEMD 2014 report, charcoal use stood at 6 million tonnes, wood used in brick burning at 71,000 tonnes, wood use in tea industry, 270,000 tonnes, wood consumed in lime production, 5,435 tons , wood consumed in prisons, 1,900 tonnes , wood consumed in hospitals and 1.7 million tonnes wood consumed in educational institutions.

With such consumption of biomass, Uganda loses 200,000 hectares of forest coverage annually due to, among other factors, agriculture, infrastructure development, industrialisation and urbanisation, according to the UN food and agriculture latest report.
And that is disastrous for the country according to State minister for Environment, Dr Mary Goretti Kitutu, who says much of Uganda?s rainfall comes from natural resources.
?Forty per cent of our (Uganda) rainfall comes from wetlands and forests and 60 from external influences?protection of wetlands and forests is therefore very important?Dr Kitutu said recently.

It is really irritating and close to absurdity to know that this beauty might not be witnessed by the future generation. The encroachment has turned out to be so vigorous that it worries me that all the endangered species in this huge forest might lose this ecosystem. And in future we might experience a lot of climate change and given the fact that we have low adaptability to climate change, its only nature that knows how days will be like!! I commit to contribute to the prevention of these further occurrences!

referencehttp://www.topix.com/mw/kampala/2016/12/mabira-a-forest-under-encroachment

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