Why conservation work in Kibale Forest National park is important
Botanical resource
Kibale Forest National Park in Fort Portal, Uganda, is a diverse botanical resource with over 300 tree species. This park alone has all of the trees that exist within the entire nation of Uganda- and for a good reason! In addition to being one of Africa’s finest parks, Kibale forest boasts many other natural features, such as its waterfalls which are both refreshing and beautiful.
Natural animal habitat
The park is the natural habitat for nine animal species in the globally endangered list, including elephants, leopards, chimpanzees, and monkeys. If you’re a tourist looking for a natural home of the chimpanzee, then the Kibale Forest National Park is just the place for you! Yet the treasures of this natural rain forest park do not end there; a mention of the red colobus monkey cannot end without Kibale featuring in the conversation. As one of Uganda’s most important bird areas, this park has at least 375 bird species.
Forest conservation
The Kibale Forest National Park consists of large landscape-level ecosystems and ecosystem mosaics of global, regional, or national significance. It contains viable populations of the great naturally occurring species in natural patterns of distribution and abundance. It is a fact that the land under forest cover has been receding for the last 40 years. As such, at a national level, forests constitute a threatened and endangered ecosystem. In 1970s Uganda, the total land under forest cover was 20 percent. Today, the forest cover stands at only 10 percent of the total national landmass.
Benefits to the community
The Kibale forest is also an important water catchment area. It does the great work of protecting and filtering the Dura and Mpanga rivers from pollution as they flow to Lake George. While the local community profits from these two rivers, it also enjoys numerous other benefits from the forest itself. The local communities get essential resources such as traditional foods, medicines, wild coffee, and firewood through the forest. Yet, more fundamentally, the local community enjoys the advantages that come with the forest’s work in climatic control and the protection of water catchments.
If you are interested in visiting the Kibale Forest National Park in Fort Portal, come stay with us at ATACO Country Resort and get yourself a discounted rate on the tour around the forest and all it’s activities.
