Buvuma leaders clash over Buvuma forest reserves

A section of Bukaibale Forest in Buvuma District which encroachers have destroyed to carry out farming . PHOTO / DENIS SSEBWAMI
What you need to know:
- NFA is not certain on the clear boundaries of the forest reserves because they do not have titles.
Tensions have erupted between Buvuma District leadership and area Member of Parliament Mr Robert Migadde over the management of forest reserves, with both sides trading accusations over the escalating destruction of the district’s forest cover.
With large sections of Buvuma’s forests already depleted, the two sides are blaming each other for the rampant encroachment, which threatens to trigger an ecological disaster in the island district.
Mr Migadde, the Buvuma District MP, accuses the district leadership of deliberately authorising surveyors from the National Forestry Authority (NFA) to demarcate boundaries in villages adjacent to forest reserves, despite knowing that the NFA does not possess land titles for those areas.
"NFA is not certain on the clear boundaries of the forest reserves because they do not have titles. We are demanding a joint survey from the Ministry of Water and Environment, National Environment Management Authority and the National Forestry Authority to come up with a clear report before evicting people said to be occupying forestry land," Mr Migadde said during an interview on May 11.
He further claimed that some areas being claimed by the NFA as forest reserves are actually public land without any significant forest cover.
"In Buwoya Sub County, NFA claims there is Kabakungu Forest Reserve, but when you go to the department of surveys and mapping in Entebbe, the cadastral maps indicate it is public land, not a forest, yet both are government offices," Mr Migadde added.
However, Buvuma District Chairperson Mr Adrian Wasswa Ddungu accused Mr Migadde of opposing the planned boundary opening exercise because he personally encroached on forestry land in Buwanzi, where the NFA team allegedly evicted him.
"Hon Migadde encroached on Buwanzi Forest Reserve and planted twenty acres of oil palm trees. However, he was forced to leave the land and abandoned all the oil palm trees he had planted," Mr Ddungu said.
He further challenged Mr Migadde to raise the issue formally in Parliament and seek a government resolution to allocate parts of bare forestry land to the people of Buvuma, similar to what was done in Busoga.
"Instead of misleading residents, Hon Migadde should table the issue on the floor of Parliament asking the government to give out part of the forestry land which is bare to the people of Buvuma like it was done in Busoga where part of forestry land was given to the community to grow food," Mr Ddungu added.
Mr Migadde, however, denied the allegations, insisting that the land where he planted oil palm trees is outside the forest reserve.
Buvuma Main Island spans about 200 square miles (517 square kilometers) and is home to 25 gazetted forest reserves — 19 managed by the NFA and six by the district. The island is also a popular destination for bird-watching tourists.
Records from the district’s natural resources department reveal that over 2,500 hectares of forest cover have been lost to timber harvesting and farming in the past eight years. This accounts for half of the district’s total forest area, estimated at 5,000 hectares, leaving the community vulnerable to the devastating effects of environmental degradation.