52 hectares of trees planted in Buvuma as restoration efforts take shape
Kirijje local forest in Buvuma Island where reforestation is taking place. PHOTO/DENIS SSEBWAMI
What you need to know:
- Buvuma District has 25 forests of which 19 are under the National Forest Authority (NFA) and six are local forests under the supervision of the district.
Conservationists have a reason to smile as the ongoing forest restoration efforts in the island district of Buvuma start registering tangible results.
Due to increasing demand for land for cultivation, wood fuel and timber, residents descended on forests which saw the district forest cover reduced by 50 percent.
According to Ms Gladys Nalunkuuma, the Buvuma District natural resources officer, the district collaboration with the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) has so far managed to restore 52 hectares of the depleted forests.
Buvuma District has 25 forests of which 19 are under the National Forest Authority (NFA) and six are local forests under the supervision of the district.
“Some residents had systematically destroyed some forests through cultivating and establishing homesteads, but we have been able to do boundary opening on three local forests of Namunyolo, Kirijje and Mawanga .We have also managed to secure tree seedlings to plant ten hectares in Namunyolo Local Forest Reserve,” she told Monitor on July 13.
She said another 40,000 tree seedlings are still in nursery beds to support the ongoing reforestation efforts.
“We are happy that the implementers of the oil palm project are keen on where the out growers are growing the crop. Those who had applied to grow oil palm near Kabukungu Forest , their requests were rejected because they had encroached on the forestry land,” she added.
Mr Samuel Loma, the chairperson of Buwooya Sub County asked NFA to take a part in the distribution of tree seedlings to residents to ensure that the forest cover is fully restored.
“It’s good that the process of opening forest boundaries kicked off and we are now aware of some of the forestry land and some is still bare, so, to ensure that people don’t occupy such land, we need to plant trees there,” he said.
Mr Chin Pit Te , the general manager Oil Palm Buvuma Ltd reiterated that no forestry land will be considered for oil palm cultivation.
“We are an intentional company that respects environment conservation and in whatever we do, our team first conducts the Environment Social Assessment Impact and this has helped us a lot,” he said.
Buvuma Main Island has a land area measuring about 200 square miles (517km). It is gifted with 25 gazetted forest reserves and is a popular destination for bird-watching tourists.
Records at the district natural resources department show that more than 2,500 hectares of forest cover in the area have been destroyed for timber and farming in the past eight years.
This implies that half of the district’s forest cover, measuring 5,000 hectares, is completely depleted, exposing residents to negative consequences of environmental degradation.
Out of the depleted 2,500 hectares of forests, available records show that 2,110 hectares are on the central forest reserves managed by NFA, while 390 hectares are manned by the district.
