Guramwa Central Forest Reserve is a protected area located in Western Uganda's

Kibaale district Kibaale District, is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. The district headquarters are in the town of Kibaale. Location Kibaale District is bordered by Hoima District to the north, Kyankwanzi District to the north-east, Mubende District ...

. It is managed by the

National Forestry Authority The National Forest Authority is the body of the Ugandan central government that is responsible for managing the country's Central Forest Reserves. It was created as a semi-autonomous corporation through the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act ...

and was first gazetted in 1932 under the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003 with an area of , and was later re-gazetted in 1968 with an area of 1,550 ha.

Setting and structure

Guramwa Central Forest Reserve is part of the

Albertine Rift montane forests The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity. Geo ...

, which is located in the

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

region. The Albertine Rift is a branch of the East African Rift that stretches from Lake Albert's northern end to

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

's southern end. It is one of richest

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the co ...

areas in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Conservation status

There have been reports of degradation of Guramwa

central forest reserve Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

by local communities adjacent to the forests. The

reports high rates of deforestation asserting that five of the 16 major forest reserves in

including Gurama are totally "clean-shaven" with scarcely any trees remaining. Ruzaire, Kanaga, Nyabiku, and Kagadi are the other four. Even though the forest reserve has constantly been under threat from encroachers and depleted for

charcoal burning A charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a charcoal pile or kiln. Charcoal burning is one of the oldest human crafts. The knowledge gained from this indust ...

, there has been recurrent need for explaining the boundaries separating the forest reserve and individual pieces of land. In August 2013, President

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

was drawn to controversy concerning the borders of the Guramwa Central Forest Reserve.Uganda Radio Network. (2013, August 26). President's Office Demands Report on Guramwa Forest Boundaries. Retrieved from https://ugandaradionetwork.net/story/presidents-office-demands-report-on-guramwa-forest-boundaries

References

{{reflist Forest reserves of Uganda Kibaale District

Setting and structure

Conservation status

See also

References