Kalangala Town council surrenders forest reserve
An earial view of Buggala Central Forest reserve at Lutoboka Bay in Kalangala Town Council that was de-gazetted recently. PHOTO BY HENRY LUBULWA
KALANGALA.
Authorities in Kalangala Town Council have finally succumbed to pressure and given part of the degazetted Buggala Central Forest Reserve land to the district leadership.
The council chairperson, Mr Stephen Kizza, said the move aims at allowing the district to plan and allocate plots in the reserve to ensure proper expansion of the town.
“They (district) are the ones with a land board and we found it important to let them manage the land. We will work closely with them to develop the area,” Mr Kizza said in an interview on Monday.
During the 9th Parliament, MPs approved the degazettement of 14 urban forest reserves in different town councils including Kalangala to pave way for development.
Kalangala District had requested for the degazettement of the entire Buggala Forest Reserve and Kampala Forest Reserve, both located in Kalangala Town Council.
However, Parliament only approved the degazettement of only 173 out of the 246 hectares of the Buggala Central Forest Reserve.
Kalangala LC5 chairperson Willy Lugoloobi, commended the town council, adding that the district will develop the area into a tourist site.
As compensation for the degazetted forest, Kalangala District plans to give National Forestry Authority some 193 hectares on Bunyama Island to plant there a new forest.
Buggala Island, the largest out of the 84 islands, covers 29,000 hectares, 10,000 of which were allocated for oil palm trees. In just two years, the island has lost close to 800 hectares of the forest cover to illegal loggers and palm oil growers.
