The fourth Management Plan (Kamugisha and Nsita 1997) is current at the present
time, covering the period July 1997–June 2007. It goes beyond its predecessors in its
emphasis on wildlife protection. For a start, the amount of Strict Nature Reserve (SNR)
has been increased considerably by the addition of several new compartments. In addi-
tion, surrounding the SNR areas we now have buffer zones (BZs), where only light
harvesting can take place. The ‘Conservation Working Circle’ is described in Chapter 13
of the current Management Plan. It comprises 31 compartments, 17 for SNR and 14 for
BZs. The total area now allocated to SNR and BZs is 30 853 ha. Of this, 11 722 ha are
SNR and 5293 ha are BZs. This is a huge increase in the size of the protected area in
Budongo (N15 itself, the main SNR until the present Management Plan, is a mere
747 ha) but we should remember the underlying problem of enforcement so that what
appears to be a great step forward has yet to be translated into a reality. Illegal activities
still go on undiscovered and not prevented. However, in terms of future development of
the forest, the increase in protection is surely a good thing.
The bulk of the new SNR is in Waibira Block in the northern part of the forest. As the
Plan states: ‘From the ecological view point, large single blocks of forest provide better
habitats for conservation of forest taxa than several isolated small blocks’ (p. 75). This
is surely true (Chapman and Peres 2001; Mittermeier and Cheney 1987). However,
being in the north of the forest and hence far from the authorities, Waibira Block will be
very hard to police.
The Management Plan gives a picture of what is intended for biodiversity conservation
in Budongo generally, without mentioning chimpanzee protection in particular, except in
Management Plan for Budongo Forest Reserve 227Table 12.1: Threats to Budongo Forest Reserve (from Plumptre et al. 2003).
Threat Area Impact Urgency Total Overall Rank
Hunting
Dogs/nets/spears 22 3 71
Snares 13 5 10 28 10
Charcoal burning 49 7206
Crop-raiding 91 818 4
Encroachment 313 13 29 11
Fire 510 6 21 7
Firewood collection
Household 10 7 9 26 9
Grazing 14 4 9 2
Medicinal plant collection 83 516 3
NTFP
General 11 8 11 30 13
Rattan 12 6 12 30 13
Pitsawing
Illegal 14 12 14 40 14
Legal 612 2 20 6
Research 14 1 6 1
Sawmilling 714 1 22 8
Tourism 43 1 8 1
Numbers in columns are ranks; highest numbergreatest threat.