Forest Products, Livelihoods and Conservation

Patrick Omeja, Joseph Obua and Anthony B. Cunningham 177

Figure 2. Diagrammatic representation of the production–marketing chain for

wooden drums

It is clear from Uganda’s national planning document Vision 2025 that

environmental conservation and management are crucial for sociocultural and

economic development and national prosperity. To achieve these goals there

have been significant policy changes in the management of natural forests

and biodiversity conservation such as the development of the National Forest

Plan and the National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. These are important

provisions in the National Environment Statute No. 5 of 1995 and the Forest

Policy. The National Environment Statute contains guidelines to promote

sustainable forest resource use and environment management and assigns

roles to various agencies in this regard.

In the case of the drum making industry the relevant statute is the Forest

Act of 1964, included in the 2002 Forest Policy for Uganda after a global shift

in management goals of natural resources (IUCN 1986; NEMA 1994). It therefore

incorporates the needs of human populations living adjacent to forest reserves

while at the same time protecting the biodiversity and integrity of physical

and ecological processes of reserves. Successful implementation of this policy

would serve as viable measures for conservation of natural forests and

biodiversity that form the base for wooden drum makers.

According to the Uganda Forest Policy of 2002, drum making and use is still

recognised as a subsistence activity because carved wooden drums have been

used in the Buganda Kingdom palaces for a long time and the history of their

use dates back as far as the eighteenth century (Lush 1935). The long history

of drum use in the whole of Uganda also explains why a drum is part of the

Uganda national coat of arms (Figure 3), which depicts the cultural significance

attached to it. But the situation has changed over the years and drums are

now significant commodities in both the local and tourist markets.

It is illegal for drum makers to cut trees from forests for making drum

frames because they do not have permits or licenses, but once the drum

frames are transported to the drum making stalls by the roadside they become

legal items. This situation implies that, despite the adoption of new policies,

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