Mabira Forest
Encyclopedia
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
area covering about 300 square kilometre (30000 hectares (74,131.5 acre)) in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, located in Buikwe District
Buikwe District
Buikwe District is a district in the Central Region of Uganda. It is named after its 'chief town', Buikwe, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
, between Lugazi
Lugazi
Lugazi is a town in Buikwe District, in Central Uganda. The town is also called Kawolo, and the two names are interchangeably used by the local inhabitants.-Location:...
and Jinja
Jinja, Uganda
Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...
. It has been protected as Mabira Forest Reserve since 1932. It is home for many endangered species like the primate Lophocebus ugandae.
Deforestation plans
The Sugar Corporation of Uganda LimitedSugar Corporation of Uganda Limited
-Overview:SCOUL is the third-largest manufacturer of sugar in Uganda, producing an estimated 60,000 metric tonnes annually, accounting for approximately 17% of national output. Kakira Sugar Works, in Kakira, Jinja District, is the largest sugar manufacturer in the country, accounting for...
, a jointly owned by the Government of Uganda and by the Mehta Group
Mehta Group
The Mehta Group of Companies commonly referred to as the Mehta Group is a conglomerate based in Mumbai, India with subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Kenya and Uganda. The group employs in excess of 15,000 people worldwide and has an asset base in excess of US$350...
, planned to clear one-third of the Mabira Forest (around 70 square kilometre, for sugarcane plantations, and had proposed to the government to de-gazette this land and transfer it to SCOUL. President Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
and his cabinet supported this plan.
The deforestation plans were disputed within Uganda. While environmentalists feared the loss of hundreds of endangered species, increased erosion, the damage of livelihoods of local people and negative impacts on water balance and regional climate, supporters hoped for the creation of jobs. A cabinet paper said the plan would generate 3,500 jobs and contribute 11.5 billion Ugandan shilling
Ugandan shilling
The Shilling is the currency of Uganda. Technically, the shilling is subdivided into 100 cents but no subdivisions have been issued since the revaluation of the shilling in 1987.-History:...
s to the treasury.
The Kabaka
Kabaka
Kabaka may refer to:*Kabaka of Buganda, the title of the king of Buganda*Kabaka Puttur, a village in the state of Karnataka, India...
(King) of Buganda
Buganda
Buganda is a subnational kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Ganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, comprising all of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala, with the exception of the disputed eastern Kayunga District...
opposed the deforestation plan and has offered alternative land for sugarcane production. The Anglican church of Mukono has also offered land.
At least three people were killed during a demonstration of about 1,000 for the protection of the Mabira Forest. There were also riots against Asians, since the Mehta Group
Mehta Group
The Mehta Group of Companies commonly referred to as the Mehta Group is a conglomerate based in Mumbai, India with subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Kenya and Uganda. The group employs in excess of 15,000 people worldwide and has an asset base in excess of US$350...
is Indian
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
-owned. SCOUL plantations were set on fire, and e-mails and SMS calling for the boycott of SCOUL's Lugazi sugar circulated.
President Museveni defended the deforestation plans, saying that he shall ”not be deterred by people who don't see where the future of Africa lies”. According to him, the Save Mabira activists ”don't understand that the future of all countries lies in processing”. In May 2007, the Ugandan environmental minister announced that the deforestation plans were suspended and that the government is trying to find alternative land for the Mehta Group
Mehta Group
The Mehta Group of Companies commonly referred to as the Mehta Group is a conglomerate based in Mumbai, India with subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Kenya and Uganda. The group employs in excess of 15,000 people worldwide and has an asset base in excess of US$350...
.
Sources
- Protest against deforestation plans on EcoEarth.info
- BBC News: Deaths in Uganda forest protest
- BBC News: Uganda leader defends forest plan
- BBC News: Ugandan plan for forest suspended
- Save Mabira Petition