BUGOMA FOR TOURISMby Vivian Nabisere | 06-09-2021 23:55 |
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 #BUGOMA4TOURISM In the late 1800s, Omukama (king) Kabalega waged war against colonialists that promised socio-economic ¡®development¡¯ of his Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, in return for his political submission. The Kingdom was partly made up of present day Hoima district, Uganda in which Bugoma forest is situated. Today, all Kabalega¡¯s efforts were in vain: evidenced by the ongoing clearing of about 900 hectares of Bugoma Forest for sugarcane plantation since May of 2020 by Hoima Sugar Limited after court ruling deemed that area outside of protected land, despite opposition of environmentalists. Bugoma is currently the largest block of tropical rainforest in Uganda after all her predecessor were partly cut down for various industrial projects. The forest is home to over species including four globally threatened species and about 500 chimpanzees. The clearance has created agitation in the inhabitant animals due to creation of a negative survival environment, especially with both deforestation and active oil exploration in the area. A combination of these conditions is estimated to be a major cause for the sad end of a bush elephant, that was found dead on Saturday 28th August, 2021 in Kaseeta, Kikuube district which is near the forest. It is believed that the elephant wandered from the degraded part of the forest to Kaseeta in search of water and pasture. In this aftermath, green action and advocacy organisations have intensified their calls for positive action to responsible government ministries and agencies. Youth for Green Communities (YGC) Uganda, a youth-led public policy research and advocacy nonprofit organization, forwarded a petition to the Uganda Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities to address the concerns in the shortest time possible. A campaign has been started by the Jane Goodall Institute to push for the Bugoma forest to be a national park because this will reserve it for ecological and touristic activities only, under the Uganda Wildlife Act. Let us directly support this cause by retweeting and liking posts with the hashtag, Bugoma4Tourism on twitter and sharing on other social media platforms. Deforestation is a threat to biodiversity and greatly contributes to climate change. Since the climate is already changing, we need to prioritize effectively sustainable economies for successful mitigation. Even though Kabalega was not fighting for a greener Bunyoro, I believe he must be raging at the degraded emptiness Bugoma is becoming. Sources https://www.ugandaparks.com/forests/bugoma-forest-reserve/ https://amp.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/18/a-shame-for-the-world-ugandas-fragile-forest-ecosystem-destroyed-for-sugar https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/environmentalists-mourn-death-of-bush-elephant-3532194?view=htmlamp |
