Mujuzi Central Forest Reserve

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

Mujuzi CFR qualifies as an IPA under criterion A(i) as one of only two sites globally, and the only protected area, from which Rinorea ituriensis (CR) is known. Further botanical surveys are required at the site to fully catalogue the diversity of this site.

Mujuzi Central Forest Reserve is located within Masaka District along the shore of Lake Victoria. Spanning a length of 25 km north to south, this site is relatively flat, covering around 60 m in altitude. Mujuzi has areas of intact, lakeshore forest, that has otherwise been widely lost around Lake Victoria, but the reserve has not received much survey effort, particularly for herbaceous species. This site was visited in 2023 as part of the Uganda TIPAs project.

The site is of global conservation importance as one of only two sites known globally for the Critically Endangered species Rinorea ituriensis. The specimen from this IPA was originally described as Rinorea sp. B in FTEA, however, this has since been reidentified as Rinorea ituriensis. The Red List assessment of this species should probably, therefore, be downgraded to Endangered as it is now known from two sites. However, the second occurrence of R. ituriensis, the type specimen collected in 1908, occurs outside a protected area in the Orientale region of D.R. Congo (Paradis & Stévart, 2021). Here the species may well be threatened by small-scale agriculture and so conservation at Mujuzi, the only protected area globally that this species occurs in, is needed to ensure this species does not become extinct.
Endagered tree fern, Alsophila camerooniana var. ugandensis, is also known from this IPA. This species is endemic to Uganda and is only known from two other sites, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Buikwe District. While the former site is reasonably secure, the latter site is heavily transformed with much of this species' potential habitat lost (Google Earth 2023). Conservation of this species within Mujuzi CFR is therefore important to prevent an increased risk of extinction.
The Endangered tree Afrocarpus usambarensis was listed in field surveys by Lwanga (1996), although this species is not known from Uganda and this was more likely to have been Podocarpus milanjianus or Afrocarpus dawei which are known from nearby Sango Bay.
The site needs more extensive botanical survey work, which may well reveal addition threatened and rare species.

Much of the site is covered by medium altitude, semi-deciduous forest with swampy areas present at lower altitudes. Surveys by Lwanga (1996) found Piptadeniastrum africanum to be dominant throughout the site. In addition, recent surveys undertaken by the Uganda TIPAs project found trees such as Pseudospondias microcarpa, Pycnanthus angolensis, Canarium schweinfurthii and Raphia farinifera to be common. In the understorey, small trees of ?Trichilia sp. are dominate while herbs of Palisota schweinfurthii and, in wetter areas, Marantochloa purpurea are abundant. Hymenocoleous ?hirsutus was observed frequently on the forest floor within the interior. There are areas of open Hyparrhenia savanna within the reserve, which are likely derived from cattle grazing.
The site is underlain by loamy-clay soils, transitioning to sandy soils towards the lake shoreline.

Mujuzi is a Central Forest Reserve gazetted in 1932 and is a collection of three former forest reserves, Mujuzi, Kiraala and Byante from north to south. Along the lakeshore there are a small number of fishing landing sites, the largest of which, Ddimo and Bale, have associated fishing villages within the reserve. While 1990s surveys found that there was encroachment into the forest around Ddimo, particularly extraction of timber and fuel, satellite imagery suggests that agricultural encroachment near the village of Katinyondo and north of Bale has resulted in greater forest loss since 2010 (Lwanga, 1996; World Resources Institute, 2023). During our visit to the site, we observed small-scale logging and charcoal burning in the lattermost area. While we did not observe grazing within the reserve, the grassy areas are likely kept open by cattle farming.
In 2022, a local campaign, “Save Mujuzi Forest”, was established when a local businessman claimed to have a mailo (freehold) land title on the forest. Part of the forest had been cleared for growing pineapples as a result of this claim (Kutamba, 2022). Other legal cases are ongoing concerning those who have claimed land titles within the reserve (Ssekweyama, 2022). UPDF officers were subsequently deployed to this site and pineapple growers were ordered to vacate (Ssenyonga, 2022). It is important that land rights are resolved in the area and that the granting of land titles within protected areas is halted as such disputes are undermining conservation efforts.
The Masaka District Forest Office estimates that 2,545 acres (ca. 10 km2) of forest cover has been lost to logging and cultivation overall (Ssenyonga, 2022). But despite several threats, this forest is in better condition than Jubiya CFR to the north where fishing activities have been restricted, forcing communities to exploit forest resources for their livelihoods.

The site is a source of timber and fuel for local communities and firewood is collected by fishing communities to cure fish. Cattle are also grazed at the site within the grassland and there has been cultivation of crops within the reserve. The latter activities are not permitted, but land disputes have weakened NFA regulation of the site.
The forest itself has been described as a windbreak that buffers wind coming off Lake Victoria while local forestry officers also suggest that the forest helps prevent drought and regulate rains (Kutamba, 2022; Ssenyonga, 2022). The forest may also stabilise soils and prevent siltation of lake shore habitats that are important to fishing communities.

Sophie Richards, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Iain Darbyshire, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew