A forest cut down to grow crops disrupts biodiversity and destroys wildlife habitat. PHOTO/MICHAEL J SSALI
As we grow crops and rear livestock it is important to remember that in nature, which we are part of, there are a variety of other living things interacting with one another. God created everything with a purpose.
They are all somehow interconnected and they work together in ecosystems to sustain a balance and to support life. Some of the living things are too small to be seen with our naked eyes. They could even be hidden far away in the soil.
Others may be insects or birds flying about in the bush but they play roles that somehow make a contribution to our economic development and food security. Some tourists travel from far off countries to see rare bird species that we are still very fortunate to have in Uganda. Many insect species such as bees are needed for pollination of our crops and other plants.
Bees make honey. Some birds are responsible for planting trees including fruit and medicinal trees. They eat fruits of wild trees and pass out the seeds in their excrement in other places, where they germinate, grow, and turn into trees. They are active in forestation.
Many wild animals also do exactly that. They have prevented so many wild plant and grass species from becoming extinct. Some micro-organisms hidden in the soil aerate the soil and carry soil nutrients closer to the roots of the crops in our gardens. Some insects and worms are food for chickens. We eat insect species like grasshoppers, white ants, crickets, and locusts.
Diversity conservation
We should pay more attention to biological diversity conservation, especially in today’s times of climate change. This is needed because without the various micro-organisms, animals, and plants (wild or not) we cannot have the natural ecosystems that provide us with the fresh air we breathe and the food that we eat. Our neglect of the natural environment and our destruction of it are some of the major causes of climate change and the resultant issues facing agriculture today.
We often fight biodiversity by such acts as deforestation, bushfires, and misuse of agrochemicals on wildlife ecosystems, as is well elaborated by Mr Joseph Arinaitwe, an ecological monitoring and research officer at Uganda Wildlife Authority, currently stationed at Queen Elizabeth National Park in Western Uganda.
He says, “Bushfires destroy vegetation, leading to habitat loss for various organisms. Numerous ground-breeding birds lose their eggs and chicks. Many reptiles –snakes, lizards, geckos – rodents and millions of insects get burnt to death.
Animals scampering for their lives to escape the bushfire become more vulnerable to predators, disease, and other stressors due to reduced or lack of resources and shelter.”
Diverse animal species
Arinaitwe goes on to reveal that in some cases where certain animal species have very limited range (space) or even live in specialised habitats bushfires can lead to serious population decline or species extinction. He says clearing of trees from vast areas of forest (deforestation) leads to habitat loss, reduces carbon storage, alters climate patterns, and affects water quality and soil health.
“Forests are home to diverse animal species that lose their home (habitat) or become fragmented when forests are cleared, thereby reducing the number of species that can thrive in an area and cause a decline in overall biodiversity. ”
Arinaitwe further says that when forests are cleared, stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to rising global temperatures and climate change. According to him, this can alter local and regional climate patterns by changing transpiration and evaporation rates, impacting rainfall and temperature. He points out that animal species that cannot easily adapt to climate change eventually die or go extinct.
Pesticides and herbicides
Arinaitwe makes a strong warning about mindless application of pesticides and herbicides.
He says, “They have several negative impacts on the environment, including contamination of water and the soil, harming beneficial ecosystems and human lives. Chemical compounds can persist in the environment for long periods – hundreds and even thousands of years – before they can be finally decomposed or degraded.
Chemical compounds can leach into and contaminate soil and groundwater systems thus posing health risks to humans and animals.
Contaminated surface water runoff can end up in aquatic ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, and wetlands where they cause harm to fish and other aquatic living things.” He also said herbicides often kill beneficial insects such as pollinators (bees, butterflies) and natural pest predators such as ladybugs, leading to reduced pollination and reduction in agricultural yields.
Arinaitwe said insecticides have not only reduced the population of bees and honey yields but also led to honey contamination due to polluted nectar which bees use to make honey.
“Consumption of contaminated honey and other contaminated food poses human and animal health risks. The decline of beneficial insects and other wildlife due to careless herbicide use can weaken ecosystems.”
According to an article published by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISTAT) on May 21 2025, insects constitute nearly 75 percent of the total species on Earth.
“They play an important role as crop pests, pollinators and scavengers. Crop plants, the cornerstone of global food systems, face constant threats from more than 10,000 species of insect pests.
The resulting losses are staggering: global crop yields decline by about 13 percent annually, currently valued at $242 billion every year.”
On the other hand, the insect population is declining globally. The 2019 global review published in Biological Conservation, indicates that 40 percent of insect species are in decline and one third are endangered.
The ICRIRSTAT article discloses that climate change is reshaping not only crop systems but also the behaviour and distribution of insect populations – both pests and pollinators.
Insect species once confined to tropical and subtropical zones are now expanding into temperate regions. Malaria-causing mosquitoes and other parasites like the tsetse fly are spreading to areas where they never existed before, resulting in new cropping and animal husbandry practices as well as human health issues.
One very important consideration to reflect on is that when plants are destroyed wildlife, domestic animals and birds lose their medicinal herbs. They die from lack of their natural medicine. An article titled “Chimpanzees self-medicate with healing plants,” published by BBC, reveals that chimpanzees eat plants that have pain-relieving and anti-bacterial properties to heal themselves.
“When an injured animal sought out something specific from the forest to eat, the researchers collected samples of that plant and had it analysed. Most of the plants tested turned out to have antibacterial properties. The scientists who published their findings in the journal, PLOS One, think the chimps could even help in the search for new medicines.”
The lead researcher, Dr Elodie Freymann, from University of Oxford is said to have stated that since the team could not test everything from that forest for their medicinal properties it was better to test the plants that they have information about –the plants that the chips are seeking out.
In total the researchers collected 17 samples from 13 different plant species and sent them to be tested at the Neubrandenburg University of Applied Science in Germany.
The results revealed that almost 90 percent of the extracts inhibited bacterial growth, and a third had natural anti-inflammatory properties, meaning they could reduce pain and promote healing.
Dr Freymann also disclosed, “There are some surprisingly human-like hygiene habits like a chimpanzee using leaves to wipe itself after defecating. There is a whole behavioural repertoire that chimpanzees use when they are sick or injured in the wild to treat themselves and to maintain hygiene.”
It is not only chimpanzees that use herbs to medicate themselves when they get sick or injured.
Many bird species including local chicken, many animals, domesticated or wild, use some herbs to cure illnesses. When a forest is destroyed these wild creatures lose not just their food, and shelter but also their medicine.
Some of the animals and birds that are thus deprived of their natural habitat and medicine and die as a result are real tourist attractions.
This is no small loss when it is remembered that in 2024 Uganda’s tourism sector generated a record high of $1.28billion in international tourism receipts, according to the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities.
