Deforestation and Uganda
Deforestation is the elimination of forest and woodland areas on the large scale.
Deforestation emerged as a major problem because of large scale losses evident particularly in tropical regions. Evidence of deforestation dates back much further than modern times, owing to the fact that deforestation is also a natural process.
Uganda is a small African country located in East Africa and is crossed by equator in the south. The location in the equatorial region, a number of lakes in the country and fertile soils has given Uganda a favourable climate and terrain for growth of tropical forests. The tropical forests are mainly located in the central and south western parts of the country. These include the likes of Mabira forest located in Jinja district and Mpanga district forest reserve in Masaka district and Bwindi impenetrable forest in kabala district. Like most the African countries Uganda is a developing country with a large rural population dependent on nature for many of their needs. This makes forests in the country vulnerable to deforestation.
Uganda's annual deforestation rate has climbed 21 percent since the end of the 1990s. The country lost an average of 86,400 hectares of forest—or 2.1 percent of its forest cover per year between 2000 and 2005. On a generational time scale, Uganda lost 26.3 percent of its forest cover (1.3 million hectares) between 1990 and 2005. This forest loss is directly threatening some of the highest concentrations of biodiversity in Africa: Uganda is home to more than 5,000 plant species, 345 species of mammals, and types of 1,015 birds.
The very high rate of deforestation in Uganda has been attributed to a number of reasons ranging from the population explosion and the energy needs of the population. The loss of forest cover has become focal point in conservation of biodiversity in the country. Here are the causes of deforestation in Uganda.
Uganda has experienced a very large growth of population in the recent years
Deforestation emerged as a major problem because of large scale losses evident particularly in tropical regions. Evidence of deforestation dates back much further than modern times, owing to the fact that deforestation is also a natural process.
Uganda is a small African country located in East Africa and is crossed by equator in the south. The location in the equatorial region, a number of lakes in the country and fertile soils has given Uganda a favourable climate and terrain for growth of tropical forests. The tropical forests are mainly located in the central and south western parts of the country. These include the likes of Mabira forest located in Jinja district and Mpanga district forest reserve in Masaka district and Bwindi impenetrable forest in kabala district. Like most the African countries Uganda is a developing country with a large rural population dependent on nature for many of their needs. This makes forests in the country vulnerable to deforestation.
Uganda's annual deforestation rate has climbed 21 percent since the end of the 1990s. The country lost an average of 86,400 hectares of forest—or 2.1 percent of its forest cover per year between 2000 and 2005. On a generational time scale, Uganda lost 26.3 percent of its forest cover (1.3 million hectares) between 1990 and 2005. This forest loss is directly threatening some of the highest concentrations of biodiversity in Africa: Uganda is home to more than 5,000 plant species, 345 species of mammals, and types of 1,015 birds.
The very high rate of deforestation in Uganda has been attributed to a number of reasons ranging from the population explosion and the energy needs of the population. The loss of forest cover has become focal point in conservation of biodiversity in the country. Here are the causes of deforestation in Uganda.
Uganda has experienced a very large growth of population in the recent years