Govt urged to act on Bugoma Forest Reserve encroachers

________________

Several stakeholders, including those engaged in the sectors of tourism, conservation and hotel in the Bunyoro region, have urged the Government to act on encroachers depleting Bugoma Forest Reserve in Kikuube district.

A group of hoteliers and tourism stakeholders made the call on February 19, 2026, during a meeting at the Bugoma Jungle Lodge in Bugoma forest in Kabwoya sub-county. This was after the group toured Bugoma forest to witness and document the extent to which the forest has been depleted.

While inside the forest in Nsozi village in Kyangwali sub-county, the group was shocked that the forest, which used to be thick and impenetrable, had been cleared to the ground.

The encroachers are engaged in various activities, including cultivation of maize, Sorghum, marijuana, beans, timber harvest and charcoal burning.

The group, led by Costantino Tessarin, the director of Destination Jungle, a tour company, said whoever was behind the destruction of Bugoma Forest is an enemy of the tourism sector and climate.

He said that according to statistics obtained from the National Forest Authority, deforestation of Bugoma by 2025 was 7,808 hectares, and the current deforestation (2026) is 4,084 hectares.

Tessarin added that the Bugoma is the only hope for rare biodiversity, such as chimpanzees, birds, Black-and-white colobus monkeys, Mangabeys, baboons and butterflies, which attract tourists to the area.

Bugoma is also a home to medicinal trees, including Prunus Africana (entaseesa), a medicinal tree for prostate cancer and other diseases, Warburgia ugandensis (omusikambuzi), a tree which was used to produce Covidex and tamarind (omukooge) tree, among others.

He said continued destruction of the forest has resulted in the extinction of such biodiversity, something, according to him, is both affecting local and national tourism.

Tessarin, who is also Bugoma Jungle Lodge director, said due to depletion of the forest, chimpanzees have been killed and displaced, adding that by 2005 Bugoma hosted 590 chimpanzees, but now hosts 250 chimps.

He added that the destruction of Bugoma forest is worsening climate change, adding that Uganda is losing one of its largest natural carbon sinks, which is critical for climate stability and human survival.

“Maize, sugarcane, beans growing and charcoal burning cannot be compared to tourism, in 2025, we had 880 tourism activities in Bugoma forest, and this generated $25,000, which is about shillings 70 million. That alone shows the potential revenue. So, the institution should understand this opportunity because this increases tax capacity in the area,” Tessarin said.

Richard Businge, another tour operator, expressed concern that despite the recent directives by lands minister Judith Nabakooba to stop the clearing of the forest, people are still cutting timber and burning charcoal inside the forest.

“As you saw when we entered the forest, we found people with power saws cutting trees, burning charcoal and others harvesting maize. When they saw us, they took off, which means the minister's directive was not honoured, and there is no one to implement it,” he said.

Kikuube Resident District Commissioner Godwine Agalia Kasiwa said that as the district security committee, they are working with different stakeholders, including NEMA, NFA, the judiciary, and the army, to protect the forest.

He noted that several tracks carrying timbers and charcoal have been impounded, arrested encroachers and cancelled permits of different people issued by forest officials to encroachers, and they are continuing with the operation.