Forest Products, Livelihoods and Conservation

172 Carved wooden drums and trade in Mpigi district, Uganda

and September to November, with a principal peak in April and a minor peak

in November. The annual rainfall is 889 mm to 1,676 mm. Minimum temperature

ranges from 11.7°C to 16.1°C, maximum from 26.1°C to 33.3°C (Howard 1991;

NEMA 1997).

Vegetation and fauna

The forests in Mpigi district may be broadly classified as medium altitude

moist evergreen Piptadeniastrum-Uapaca forest and medium forest/savannah

mosaic. The flora of these reserves is not especially diverse and relatively few

rare or restricted range species are present (Howard et al. 1996). The forests

have close affinities with certain Congo and west African forest types in general

appearance and structure, and practically all genera found in these areas are

also found in the west. The vegetation is composed of medium altitude moist

evergreen forest to high altitude forest (Hamilton 1984), Celtis, Morus,

Aningeria and Bosqueia being the common tree species. According to Howard

(1991), 345 plant species (28% of Uganda’s total) have been recorded in this

area. The forests also have a diverse mammalian and avian fauna such as

black-billed turaco (Tauraco schuetta), black and white casqued hornbill

(Bycanistes subcylindricus), red tail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius), and

black and white Colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza).

Study forests

Three forest types having different management histories were selected for

this study. One is Lufuka forest, located 1 km south-east of Mpanga forest. It

has experienced high human activity by the immediate local community and

people elsewhere. Activities like extraction of logs for drum making, charcoal

burning, pit sawing with no or little restriction coupled with its location near

the main road has made the forest highly degraded. The second, Degeya forest,

is located 4 km south of Mpanga forest reserve. Long distance from the drum

making community and vigilant forest law enforcement by forest guards and

local leaders have left this forest relatively less disturbed. The third area,

Mpanga forest reserve, has been minimally disturbed because of conservation

concerns and therefore was designated as a research forest by the Forest

Department in 1951.

GENERAL METHODS

Study design

Socio-economic and forest inventory methods were used to collect data. During

the social survey a range of interest groups involved in drum making were

interviewed using structured and unstructured questionnaires to collect

information on the sources of wood used for making drums, the tree species

used and those preferred, their availability (supply), distribution and fluctuation

in abundance. The forests were surveyed to collect data on population

structure, diameter at breast height and distribution of tree species that were

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