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NFA officials accused of degrading Echuya forest
Some collaborative forest management group members from Muko Sub-county, Rubanda District display bamboo tree pieces that were cut down in Echuya Forest Reserve in March last year. PHOTO | ROBERT MUHEREZA
What you need to know:
- About the forest. Echuya Forest Reserve is at the boundary of Rubanda and Kisoro districts and it has a total land area of about 3,400 hectares. It is also the habitat about 10 monkey and baboon species, about 300 bird species including the world’s highly endangered bird specie; the Grauers Rush Warbler and a unique natural bamboo forest. It is the main stopover for bird watching tourists as they head for Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable forest for mountain gorilla tracking.
Authorities in Rubanda and Kisoro districts, and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives have accused National Forest Authority (NFA) staff of destroying Echuya Bamboo Natural Forest.
They last Thursday resolved to petition the Ministry of Water and Environment over the matter.
Speaking at a meeting for Biodiversity Conservation Forum organised by Nature Uganda in Kabale, Kisoro national resources officer Vincent Mudanga said serious action needs to be taken in order to save the forest.
“NFA officials are responsible for the destruction and degradation of bamboo trees in the Echuya Forest Reserve. This has led to 20 per cent loss of bamboo tree quantity and quality in the area. Every time they are invited for stakeholder meetings they absent themselves,” he said.
The Kisoro District chairperson, Mr Abel Bizimana, said the destruction of the forest affects many water bodies such as Bunyonyi, Chahafi, Mutanda and rivers such as Mukashayi, Murindi and Chuho.
“For the last 20 years, local governments and representatives of NGOs have been mobilising communities to conserve bamboo trees in Echuya Forest Reserve but it is a shame to find that the NFA officials that are supposed to protect the forest are the ones involved in its destruction,” Mr Bizimana said.
Resident District Commissioner Rubanda Peter Rwakifari asked for details of NFA officers involved in the destruction of Echuya Forest Reserve so that they can be arrested and prosecuted.
In September 2018, the district councils of Rubanda and Kisoro passed a resolution asking government to turn Echuya Forest Reserve into a national park for better management.
“In our petition to the minister, we should also inquire how far the process of turning the forest reserve into a national park has reached because it is the best way forward to conserve this natural beauty,” the Rubanda District vice chairperson, Mr Pastoli Twinomuhangi.
The executive director of NFA, Mr Tom Okello, in a telephone interview said he was not aware of any form of degradation of Echuya forest.
He said their staff in the area are only cutting old dry bamboo trees to give space for young bamboo shoots to multiply.
“There is no destruction of bamboo trees in Echuya forest. Bamboo is a type of grass that requires the removal of old dry ones to give space for quick multiplication. I am planning to visit the forest reserve myself and establish the claims,” Mr Okello said.
The chairperson of Murora Sub-county Collaborative Forest Management, Mr Emmanuel Tumushiime, questioned why community members are not involved in the removal of the old dry bamboo trees from Echuya Forest Reserve since they are stakeholders in its conservation.
