Uganda forest being stripped for fuel wood
By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com
September 27, 2010 A new study in the open access journal of Tropical Conservation Science finds that the Kasagala forest reserve in central Uganda is losing important tree species and suffering from low diversity of species. Researchers believe that forest degradation for charcoal and firewood has put heavy pressure on this ecosystem. The Kasagala forest reserve, according to the authors, was “previously set aside to provide ecosystem services and offer catchment protection to Lake Kyoga, an inland water body that is gradually drying up due to loss of surrounding vegetation cover,” adding that “this forest is of immense ecological value” and is vital for local populations as Lake Kyoga provides water to over 100,000 people. Both the overall forest area and the protected area are being squeezed. The authors write that “steep growth in human populations and a corresponding demand for agricultural land […] has reduced the buffer zone area of the forest,” while local demand for fuel wood has degraded the Kasagala forest itself. In studying the diversity of tree and shrub species, researchers found that the forest had largely been stripped of its Combretum trees, leading to a wholesale change in species dominance. The researchers also found low species diversity in areas where humans had clearly been fragmenting the forest. …
