Tourism fed by forests

By Titus Kakembo                                       

Besides the Mountains of the Moon (Rwenzori), the River Nile and the Source of The Nile, Uganda boasts another tourist attraction which happens to be the habitat for primates and reptiles.

“Trees are a fortune Uganda cannot afford to lose,” said Ugandan tourism minister Maria Mutagamba on St Patrick’s Day while planting three acres of eucalyptus trees at the Equator.

“If every Ugandan planted one tree you can imagine how much the weather will change for the best.”

The three acres, an area that has been bare for quite some time, belong to Ugandan entrepreneur Gordon Wavamuno.

Mutagamba tipped land owners in Uganda to plant trees as the market for timber is not likely to drop in the near future.

St Patrick is the foremost patron saint of Ireland and as such, the Irish embassy in Uganda head of cooperation Frank Kirwan took part in the tree planting event.

He said many Irish people are abroad but that one thing that they all have in common – with those back at home in Ireland – is that they all celebrate St. Patrick’s Day “who saved them from slavery”.
 

Frank Kirwan prepares to plant a tree at the equator point to celebrate St. Patrick's day. (Photo credit: Titus Kakembo)

University students join in on the planting of trees in the neighbourhood of their institution. (Photo credit: Titus Kakembo)

Commemoration of this day generally involves, among other things, the wearing of green attire, and for four weeks, The Equator circular monument glowed green up until March 17, the day of St. Patrick.

The colour green was also symbolic. It was in a bid to promote tourism through conservation. Students, tour operators, residents and journalists planted a tree each.

The initiative was the idea of the ministry of tourism in partnership with the Uganda Tourism Board, the Irish Embassy in Uganda, among many other players.

Musa Luswata, the chairman of Uganda Nursery Operators and Gardeners said that the good news is that there are fast-growing species that have been developed.

“The market is there for electric, telephone and building poles,” said Luswata. “Better still, the new species are safe from weevils that have been a threat.”

In the 1980s, 75,000 sq.km of land in Uganda was forest and woodland. By then about 15,000 sq.km (7% of Uganda's dry land area) was then protected forest reserves.

Roughly 250 sq.km of protected reserves were tree farms. The most important forest products are timber, firewood, charcoal, wood pulp, and paper.

According to Luswata, important forest products include leaves for fodder and fertilizer, medicinal herbs, fruits, and fibres.

“A variety of grasses are used for weaving interior décor and household applications like furniture and mats. This is besides bark cloth which is of great cultural importance.”
 

Tourism minister Maria Mutagamba shakes hands with Irish Embassy's Frank Kirwan in a group photo at the Equator. Photo credit: Titus Kakembo

But as the population increases and incomes improve, the supply of timber-related materials has been overwhelmed by the demand as output of timber for construction declined from 1980 to 1985.

Good enough nationwide forest resources are being planted rapidly.

But deforestation remains severely high in poverty-stricken areas, where many people place short-term survival needs ahead of the long-term goal of maintaining the nation's economic sector.

These comprise of agricultural encroachment, logging, charcoal making and harvesting timber for firewood. Another toll on forest reserves results from wildfires.

Both natural regrowth and tree-planting projects remain challenged to keep pace with the growing demand for forest products.  The ministry of environmental protection was responsible for implementing forest policy and management.

That was when officials warned people about loss of productive woodlands leading to land erosion, environmental degradation, energy shortages, food shortages, poverty and drought.

“The goal was to change traditional attitudes toward forests and other natural resources,” recalled Luswata.

Government continues to implement forestry rehabilitation projects financed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which include a nationwide tree-planting campaign.