Buwerere

A(i)Site contains one or more globally threatened species

Buwerere qualified as an IPA under criterion A(i) as it supports at least the globally threatened species of cycad, Encephalartos equatorialis. This species is Critically Endangered, known from a single location.

Buwerere Rocks Important Plant Area (IPA) is composed of Bukaleba Central Forest Reserve (CFR) and the adjacent villages of the reserve. The bigger part of the adjacent land is communally owned by the local communities. The IPA is located in Mayuge district (Busoga, eastern region), within the U3 floristic region of Uganda. Situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, this IPA is about 120 km east of the capital Kampala (Dihle 2014, Schmid 2023).

Part of the site is on land privately owned by Arise Africa International (a local NGO), while another portion is on community land. 84% of the IPA is comprised of Bukaleba CFR, totaling an area of 94 km2. Busoga Forest Company, which was established in 1996 under Green Resources, acquired a 50-year license from the Government of Uganda through the National Forestry Authority to plant trees in the reserve.

Buwerere Rocks PA is a small but botanically important site. It is the only site in the whole world where the range-restricted and Ugandan endemic Encephalartos equatorialis is known to occur in the wild. This cycad is highly threatened, assessed as Critically Endangered (CR). Its population size was estimated to be only ca. 400 mature individuals distributed in two main sub-populations separated by only a distance of a few kilometers. The cycad population has a very skewed sex ratio of 4:21 = female:male (Kalema & Mucunguzi 2009). In all the clusters of this cycad seen by Kalema & Mucunguzi (2009), there were no young seedlings found, and during fieldwork undertaken in 2023, only very few were seen.

In a botanical study conducted by James Kalema in Bukaleba CFR alone, a total of 305 species of plants from 58 families were recorded (Kityo and Kalema 2019). Lwanga (1996) recorded a total of 96 species of trees and shrubs from the CFR. The globally Near Threatened Milicia excelsa has been recorded from Bukaleba CFR (Davenport et al 1996). Albizia species are listed in Uganda as Reserved Tree Species under Schedule 8 of the Forestry and Tree Planting Act 2003. Those occurring in Buwerere IPA are A. coriaria, A. grandibracteata and A. gummifera.

Buwerere is mostly settled area, with the exception of the part covered inside the forest reserve. But this is also mostly planted with exotic pines and eucalyptus trees, with only relic pockets of (near-)natural vegetation.

Bukaleba CFR is classified as moist savanna and medium altitude moist semi-deciduous Albizia-Markamia forest (Langdale-Brown et al 1964), covering 97 km2. In the low-lying areas are wetlands commonly dominated by Alchornea cordifolia, Mimosa pigra and Pycreus nitidus, with Tylosema fassoglensis, Adenia rumicifolia, Dissotis sp., Leersia hexandra, Melanthera scandens and occasional trees of Acacia polyacantha, Shirakiopsis elliptica and Polyscius fulva.

The areas occupied by the cycads are often granitic and lateritic rock outcrops on thin soils in grassland, wooded grassland or bushland. There are areas of subsistence cultivation within the IPA, and some of these have isolated individuals or colonies of the cycad.

The Buwerere Rocks IPA lies within the Lake Victoria Climatic Zone, and experience tropical equatorial climate characterised by daily sunshine and they receive an average rainfall of about 1,500 mm per annum. There is little seasonal variation in temperature, humidity, and winds throughout the year. The district’s mean annual temperature is 23.44°C. The climate of Buwerere is a warm and humid (Dihle 2014) tropical rainforest climate. The area has 296 rainy days (81.12% of the time) annually. The area experiences two dry seasons and two wet seasons. The first dry season starts from December to early February and then early July to August.

Buwerere Rocks IPA partly overlaps with Bukaleba Central Forest Reserve, established by the British administration in 1932 (Dihle 2014). The site also overlaps with a KBA “Thruston Bay” which is also triggered by E. equatorialis. However, the bigger part of the cycad population is outside the reserve, hence not under any formal protection. Any efforts to conserve the cycad require close partnership with the Government, the local communities and the Companies Arise Africa International and Busoga Forest Company.

Uncontrolled burning is carried out by the communities in the area surrounding the rocks on which the cycad is growing (Kalema & Mucunguzi 2009). Some burn the area for livestock grazing, but the fire often crosses to the cycad clusters at the edge of the rock, burning and damaging the cycads. We saw evidence of burning on our recent trip which had negatively affected cycads, although there was some regeneration.

The population growth of Mayuge is among the highest in Uganda, leading to increased pressure on agricultural land, as the main activity of the population is substance agriculture (Orlando et al 2002, Dihle 2014). Cycads are cleared through the cultivation of habitats where cycads grow, reducing their population and the quality of their habitat. The communities grow a variety of crops including sugarcane and rice. There are reports of minimal harvesting of cycad leaves for use as firewood. There is a limited level of awareness about the cycad and its potential and actual value (Kalema & Mucunguzi 2009).

The Amin government (and later followed by Milton Obote during his second regime), reportedly distributed portions of protected areas to communities (Okuku, 2006; Turyahabwe & Banana, 2008). Bukaleba CFR was amongst those made available to local communities (Lyons & Westoby 2014).

Between 1989 and 1991, the population living inside the Forest Reserve of Bukaleba was formally evicted by the Forestry Department to regain control of this area and its natural resources (Mousseau & Biggs 2014). However, some people stayed inside the reserve and continued to cultivate the land.

The Busoga Forest Company, holds a license agreement with the Ugandan Government, and has a sizeable area which is plantable, the majority of which is under monoculture stands of pine and eucalyptus (Lyons & Westoby 2014), leaving very little of the natural vegetation.

According to the NFA and Green Resources, the reserve was seriously degraded with a strong need for replanting when the license was given. There are alien invasive plant species in this IPA, and we observed these in our recent fieldwork. One of the most notorious ones is Lantana camara, a shrub which has spread into many of the disturbed sites and is growing alongside the cycad. Others are Broussonetia papyrifera, Chromolaena odorata. Mimosa pigra also occurs in wetland areas. There is a need to map the extent and monitor the spread of all the invasive species in the park and surrounding areas to design management strategies.

The Buwerere IPA is important for provisioning, regulatory and supporting services in the area, with important resources for community livelihood and their socio-economic activities. Local villagers have burial grounds and cultural sites as well as housing. Community members also describe long standing access and use rights; including for animal grazing, fishing, as well as the collection of firewood, spear grass and medicinal herbs, as well as accessing watering holes, amongst other uses (Lyons and Westoby 2014). The local communities are mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture. This IPA shares a boundary with the lake, and therefore one of the lakeshore forest reserves, protecting Lake Victoria from siltation. It is also the origin and water catchment for River Mwangwe and River Nanikore that are permanent and serve local communities of Buwerere, Kasali and Bukaleba villages, Imanyiro subcounty in Mayuge district, with domestic water and water for their economic activities. These rivers flow into Lake Victoria. The papyrus and Phragmites wetlands along the shoreline provide a suitable breeding ground for the Endangered Grey Crowned Cranes.

This peninsular IPA provides protection and conservation of some remnants of wildlife e.g. buffaloes, wild pigs, antelopes and various bird species that live in the natural forest occupying the area, the only site in Busoga region where such game still exist and presents potential for ecotourism development.

The forest part of the IPA also provides protection to lagoons which are fish breeding places within the lake, hence important for the fisheries industry. The IPA also protects two hills located within the reserve from soil erosion.

Two private foreign companies have established commercial plantations (2,151 ha already planted) in the formerly encroached portions of the reserve. These employ local people as workers, contributing to their household income and livelihood.

James Kalema, Makerere University Herbarium

Kennedy Mukasa, Makerere University Herbarium

Sophie Richards, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Haley Gladitsch, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Priscilla Nyadoi, Uganda Wildlife Society