Chimpanzees of the Budongo Forest : Ecology, Behaviour, and Conservation

The most recent data we have on encroachment in Uganda’s forests comes from a
national chimpanzee survey (Plumptre et al. 2003) which ranked the importance of the
various threats to chimpanzees in each forest (see Table 12.1). In the case of Budongo
Forest, threats were ranked from greatest (largest number) to least (smallest number)
and, as can be seen, the top four threats were pitsawing, collection of forest products,
encroachment and snares.

Management Plan for Budongo Forest Reserve

Since 1935 there have been four Management Plans (1935–45, 1945–55, 1955–65 and
the current one 1997–2007) laying out the principles of management of this forest: how
it is to be demarcated, where the borders are, licensing arrangements for tree-felling,
enrichment by removal of weed species and planting of desirable species, and so on.
Here I want to focus on the aspect of the current Plan that is central to our interests: the
management of Budongo’s chimpanzees.

226 The future of Budongo’s chimpanzees

Fig. 12.2: Forest destruction to the southeast of Budongo Forest (from Hamilton 1984).

This largerpatch

reduced insize by

April 1982

Bwijanga

Road toHoima 01 2 34 5

0 1 2 3 4 5

Map showing relationshipto a larger part of

Budongo Forest

Masinditown

Road toKampala

KabalegaRoad to

National Park

Masindi

Limitof

surveyed area

N

Bwijanga

Forest tonguesreported to be

reduced byspread of

cultivation

Road toButiaba

NyabyeyaForest

School

Kasokwa streams tending to dryand Namosoro

up allegedly due toforest/tree destruction

Being destroyedduring April 1982

All these smallerpatches disappeared

by April 1982

Musoma plantationnear here (not marked)

has some illegalencroachment

Forest replacedby plantation

(not much illegal destructionBudongo Forest

except on margins)

kms

miles

BudongoForest