Kikuube leaders seek grace period for farmers to harvest maize before Bugoma Forest eviction
Bugoma Central Forest Reserve, officially covering 411 square kilometres of protected area and stretching approximately 40 kilometres, was ranked 12th out of 65 forests surveyed in Uganda for biodiversity importance in 2002
KIKUUBE, May 15, 2026 — Leaders in Kikuube District have called on the government to allow farmers who cultivated maize in Bugoma Central Forest Reserve to harvest their crops before vacating the forest. The leaders said more than 300 farmers have planted maize on over 4,000 acres within the forest reserve.
The leaders’ appeal follows the government’s decision to turn the forest reserve into a national park to be managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority [UWA], which is mandated to manage national parks in the country.
Florence Natumanya, the Kikuube District Woman Member of Parliament, said protecting Bugoma Forest is critical for promoting conservation and combating climate change.
However, she appealed for farmers who had already planted maize in the forest to be granted a grace period to harvest their crops, arguing that this is important for ensuring food security.
She noted that some farmers had rented land within the forest from local residents, and forcing them out before harvesting would subject them to irrecoverable losses.
The legislator added that allowing farmers to harvest their maize would help create a good working relationship between the community and UWA for the proper management of the forest.
Francis Kazini, the Buhaguzi Member of Parliament, also appealed to the government to grant farmers a grace period to harvest their maize.
He said farmers stand to lose millions of shillings if they are denied the opportunity to harvest their crops. He added that farmers had planted more than 4,370 acres of maize and beans in the area and should be allowed to harvest them.
However, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja recently rejected the appeals by Kikuube leaders, calling on all encroachers to leave the forest immediately.
“All encroachers, whether small, medium, big or extra-large, should get out of Bugoma,” she said during a fact-finding tour of the forest.
She also warned that encroachers cultivating maize in the forest should not expect to harvest their crops, saying the appeals by Kikuube leaders were merely delaying tactics aimed at frustrating the eviction process.
“I do not think they should harvest even a leaf from Bugoma,” she said, adding that this was part of a trick to prolong their stay in the forest.
Nabbanja urged the UWA to populate Bugoma Forest Reserve with wild animals such as elephants, lions and snakes to deter encroachers.
She suggested that introducing more wild animals into the forest would help UWA drive encroachers out of the reserve.
The importance of Bugoma Central Forest
Bugoma Central Forest Reserve, officially covering 411 square kilometres of protected area and stretching approximately 40 kilometres, was ranked 12th out of 65 forests surveyed in Uganda for biodiversity importance in 2002. The reserve was first gazetted in 1932.
According to a scientific survey conducted in 2010 by the Jane Goodall Institute and the Wildlife Conservation Society, Bugoma Forest hosts numerous animal, bird and plant species that require protection. The forest is also important because it is one of the last remaining forests along the wildlife migratory corridor of the Lake Albert region, linking the Murchison Falls Conservation Area and the Semliki Reserve.
Among the mammals, primates are particularly abundant, with about 580 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), large numbers of black-and-white colobus [Colobus guereza], Ugandan mangabey [Lophocebus ugandae], red-tailed monkeys and blue monkeys.
The Ugandan mangabey is now found only in Bugoma, having disappeared from other forests in the region. Bugoma is therefore considered an important chimpanzee sanctuary hosting highly endangered species.
Other animals found in Bugoma include a small population of bush elephants, golden cats and side-striped jackals [Canis adustus].
A total of 221 bird species have been recorded in Bugoma, making the forest an important birding sanctuary. Some species classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] as critically endangered, vulnerable or threatened are found in Bugoma Forest, including the Nahan’s francolin [Francolinus nahani] and the grey parrot [Psittacus erithacus].
Other common bird species observed during the 2010 research include the little greenbul, green hylia, yellow-billed barbet, yellow-whiskered greenbul, western nicator, buff-throated apalis, yellow-throated tinkerbird, rufous flycatcher thrush, olive sunbird, white-thighed hornbill, black-and-white casqued hornbill, black-billed turaco and speckled tinkerbird.
The biodiversity survey in Bugoma also recorded 224 species of trees and shrubs, more than in any other forest in the region, demonstrating that Bugoma is significantly richer in species composition than surrounding forests.
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