Investors eye tourism in Mabira forest
May 08, 2007
THE scramble for tourism concessions in Mabira forest is set to reach new heights with Adrift ready to undertake a multi-million investment at Kalagala falls. NEMA is currently reviewing the proposed investment, given the ecological sensitivity of the falls.
By Gerald Tenywa
THE scramble for tourism concessions in Mabira forest is set to reach new heights with Adrift ready to undertake a multi-million investment at Kalagala falls.
“We have given a 25-year license to Adrift to develop eco-tourism at Kalagala falls,†said Hudson Andrua, the Director of Field Operations at the National Forestry Authority (NFA).
He disclosed on Monday that Adrift had made one of the largest offers, which was likely to generate good revenue for NFA. “Adrift is not only going to invest in eco-tourism.
The group will also engage in tree planting and support cultural sites at Kalagala, worth about $50,000,â€Andrua said.
Adrift will establish its ecotourism project on 32 ha on Kalagala Island, which will also include accommodation facilities, and 29 ha on Itanda Island. Other parts of Kalagala will remain untouched, but replanting will be encouraged on the degraded natural forests to help Mabira increase in size.
“It is a good investment, but we have not yet got all the necessary approvals,†said Cam McLeay, director of Adrift, which organises rafting on the Nile.
The National Environment Management Authority still has to approve the environment impact assessment study, he explained.
NEMA is currently reviewing the proposed investment, given the ecological sensitivity of the Kalagala falls.
The World Bank and the Government entered into an agreement to preserve the area in order to lessen the negative impact of building a hydro-electric dam at Bujagali.
Kalagala lies 85 km from Kampala. It has 137 species of birds and 147 species of plants, including Warbugia ugandensis, an endangered tree with curative powers.
Kalagala was identified as a prime tourism area in the five year plan of NFA. “The rush for concessions shows that the forest is lucrative and as good as a national park,†said Andrua.
This brings to four the number of tourism investments in Mabira. The Alam Group of companies and its partners in the Netherlands are already constructing an eco-lodge in Najjembe at an estimated cost of $1.5m. The lodge, which opened recently, is scheduled to be inaugurated soon.
About 20km away, the local community has been supported
to establish a campsite at Griffin falls, near Waswa village. The UN Environmental programme provided $25,000 and the Nile Basin Initiative gave an additional $25,000 to the project.
Robert Kungujje of Mabira Forest Integrated Community Development
Projects said they had reached an agreement with NFA, in which they are exempted from paying ground rent and license fees for three years.
Mabira has been the subject of controversy ever since President Yoweri
Museveni ordered a study to convert part of it into a sugarcane plantation.
THE scramble for tourism concessions in Mabira forest is set to reach new heights with Adrift ready to undertake a multi-million investment at Kalagala falls.
“We have given a 25-year license to Adrift to develop eco-tourism at Kalagala falls,†said Hudson Andrua, the Director of Field Operations at the National Forestry Authority (NFA).
He disclosed on Monday that Adrift had made one of the largest offers, which was likely to generate good revenue for NFA. “Adrift is not only going to invest in eco-tourism.
The group will also engage in tree planting and support cultural sites at Kalagala, worth about $50,000,â€Andrua said.
Adrift will establish its ecotourism project on 32 ha on Kalagala Island, which will also include accommodation facilities, and 29 ha on Itanda Island. Other parts of Kalagala will remain untouched, but replanting will be encouraged on the degraded natural forests to help Mabira increase in size.
“It is a good investment, but we have not yet got all the necessary approvals,†said Cam McLeay, director of Adrift, which organises rafting on the Nile.
The National Environment Management Authority still has to approve the environment impact assessment study, he explained.
NEMA is currently reviewing the proposed investment, given the ecological sensitivity of the Kalagala falls.
The World Bank and the Government entered into an agreement to preserve the area in order to lessen the negative impact of building a hydro-electric dam at Bujagali.
Kalagala lies 85 km from Kampala. It has 137 species of birds and 147 species of plants, including Warbugia ugandensis, an endangered tree with curative powers.
Kalagala was identified as a prime tourism area in the five year plan of NFA. “The rush for concessions shows that the forest is lucrative and as good as a national park,†said Andrua.
This brings to four the number of tourism investments in Mabira. The Alam Group of companies and its partners in the Netherlands are already constructing an eco-lodge in Najjembe at an estimated cost of $1.5m. The lodge, which opened recently, is scheduled to be inaugurated soon.
About 20km away, the local community has been supported
to establish a campsite at Griffin falls, near Waswa village. The UN Environmental programme provided $25,000 and the Nile Basin Initiative gave an additional $25,000 to the project.
Robert Kungujje of Mabira Forest Integrated Community Development
Projects said they had reached an agreement with NFA, in which they are exempted from paying ground rent and license fees for three years.
Mabira has been the subject of controversy ever since President Yoweri
Museveni ordered a study to convert part of it into a sugarcane plantation.