Semuliki National Park
Encyclopedia
Semuliki National Park is located in Bwamba County, a remote part of the Bundibugyo District
in western Uganda
. It was made a national park
in October 1993, and is one of Uganda’s newest national parks. 194 km² (74.9 sq mi) of East Africa's
only lowland tropical rainforest
is found in the park. It is one of the richest areas of floral and faunal diversity
in Africa
, with bird species being especially diverse. The park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
. The Rwenzori Mountains
are to the south-east of the park, while Lake Albert is to the park’s north. The park lies within the Albertine Rift Valley, the western arm of the East African Rift Valley
. The park is located on a flat to gently undulating landform
that ranges from 670 to 760 m (2,198.2 to 2,493.4 ft) above sea level
.
The park experiences an average rainfall of 1250 mm (49.2 in), with peaks in rainfall from March to May and from September to December. Many areas of the park experience flooding during the wet season
. The temperature at the park varies from 18 to 30 °C (64.4 to 86 F), with relatively small daily variations.
The Park borders the Semuliki and Lamia
rivers, which are watering places for many animals. The park has two hot spring
s in a hot mineral encrusted swamp
. One of the springs - Mumbuga spring - resembles a geyser
by forming a 0.5 m high fountain. These hot springs attract a large number of shorebirds and they are a source of salt
for many animals.
From 1932 to 1993, the area covered by Semuliki National Park was managed as a forest reserve, initially by the colonial government
and then by the Ugandan government’s Forest Department. It was made a national park by the government in October 1993 in order to protect the forests as an integral part of the protected areas of the Western Rift Valley.
The park is part of a network of protected areas in the Albertine Rift Valley. Other protected areas in this network include:
within the larger Albertine Rift ecosystem. The park is located at the junction of several climatic
and ecological zones
, and as a result has a high diversity of plant and animal species and many microhabitats. Most of the plant and animal species in the park are also found in the Congo Basin
forests, with many of these species reaching the eastern limit of their range
in Semuliki National Park.
The vegetation of Semuliki National Park is predominantly medium altitude moist evergreen
to semi deciduous
forest. The dominant plant species in the forest is the tree Cynometra alexandri. There are also tree species of a more evergreen nature and swamp forest communities.
The park has more than 400 bird species, for example the lyre-tailed honey guide
. 216 of these species (66% of the country’s total bird species) are true forest birds, including the rare Forest Ground Thrush (Turdus oberlaenderi) and Sassi’s Olive Greenbul (Phyllastrephus lorenzi). Nine species of hornbill
s have been recorded in the park.
The park has over 60 mammal species, including forest buffalos
, leopards, pygmy hippos
, Mona Monkey
s, water chevrotains
, bush babies
, civet
s, elephant
s, and the Pygmy Flying Squirrel
(Idiuus zenkeri). Nine species of Duiker
s are found in the park, including the Bay Duiker
(Cephalophus dorsalis). The park has eight primate
species and almost 300 butterfly
species.
and use the park’s forests to supplement their livelihoods. Some of the products they obtain from the forests include fruits and vegetables, bushmeat
, herbal medicines
, and construction materials. The local population is increasing
at a rate of 3.4% per year. The high population density and declining agricultural productivity combined with an unavailability of alternative sources of income means that the local population is dependent on the park's resources. The forest also plays an important cultural and spiritual role in local people's lives. The forests are also the home of approximately 100 Batwa
people, an indigenous community who still largely live as hunter-gatherer
s.
Past practises of the managing authorities that excluded the local people created resentment among them. This reduced the effectiveness of conservation practices and contributed to the occurrence of illegal activities. Since the 1990s, the Ugandan Wildlife Authority has involved the local communities in park planning.
Civil unrest took place in the Bundibugyo District between 1997 and 2001. On 1997-06-16, Allied Democratic Forces
rebels attacked and took over the town of Bundibugyo
and occupied the Semuliki National Park headquarters. The people who lived near the park were moved to internally displaced people's camps.
Bundibugyo District
Bundibugyo District is a district in Western Uganda, bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Like other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Bundibugyo, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
in western 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...
. It was made a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in October 1993, and is one of Uganda’s newest national parks. 194 km² (74.9 sq mi) of East Africa's
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
only lowland tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
is found in the park. It is one of the richest areas of floral and faunal diversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, with bird species being especially diverse. The park is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Location
Semuliki National Park lies on Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. The Rwenzori Mountains
Ruwenzori Range
The Rwenzori Mountains, previously called the Ruwenzori Range , and sometimes the Mountains of the Moon, is a mountain range of central Africa, often referred to as Mt...
are to the south-east of the park, while Lake Albert is to the park’s north. The park lies within the Albertine Rift Valley, the western arm of the East African Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
. The park is located on a flat to gently undulating landform
Landform
A landform or physical feature in the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography...
that ranges from 670 to 760 m (2,198.2 to 2,493.4 ft) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
.
The park experiences an average rainfall of 1250 mm (49.2 in), with peaks in rainfall from March to May and from September to December. Many areas of the park experience flooding during the wet season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
. The temperature at the park varies from 18 to 30 °C (64.4 to 86 F), with relatively small daily variations.
The Park borders the Semuliki and Lamia
Lamia River
Lamia River is a river in western Uganda in Bundibugyo District. It flows near the Semuliki National Park....
rivers, which are watering places for many animals. The park has two hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s in a hot mineral encrusted swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
. One of the springs - Mumbuga spring - resembles a geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
by forming a 0.5 m high fountain. These hot springs attract a large number of shorebirds and they are a source of salt
Salt lick
A mineral lick is a natural mineral deposit where animals in nutrient-poor ecosystems can obtain essential mineral nutrients...
for many animals.
From 1932 to 1993, the area covered by Semuliki National Park was managed as a forest reserve, initially by the colonial government
Colonial Uganda
The British Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of Buganda Kingdom to the British Government...
and then by the Ugandan government’s Forest Department. It was made a national park by the government in October 1993 in order to protect the forests as an integral part of the protected areas of the Western Rift Valley.
The park is part of a network of protected areas in the Albertine Rift Valley. Other protected areas in this network include:
- The Rwenzori Mountains - In UgandaUgandaUganda , 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...
- Bwindi Impenetrable National ParkBwindi Impenetrable National ParkBwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda in East Africa. The park is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and is situated along the Democratic Republic of Congo border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge of the western Great Rift Valley...
- In Uganda - Kibale National ParkKibale National ParkKibale National Park is a national park in South Uganda protecting moist evergreen rain forest. It is 766 km^2 in size and is located between 1100 and 1600 meters in elevation. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse array of landscapes . Kibale is one of the...
- In Uganda - Queen Elizabeth National ParkQueen Elizabeth National Park-Location:The national park is located in western Uganda, spanning the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Bushenyi and Rukungiri. Its location is approximately , by road, southwest of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The town of Kasese lies just outside the northeastern edge of the park,...
- In Uganda - Virunga National ParkVirunga National ParkThe Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
- In the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Volcanoes National ParkVolcanoes National ParkFor the park in Hawaii, see Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.Volcanoes National Park lies in northwestern Rwanda and borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. The national park is known as a haven for the mountain gorilla...
- In the Republic of Rwanda
Flora and fauna
The area that Semuliki National Park covers is a distinct ecosystemEcosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
within the larger Albertine Rift ecosystem. The park is located at the junction of several climatic
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
and ecological zones
Ecozone
An ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of the Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms.Ecozones delineate large areas of the Earth's surface within which organisms have been evolving in relative isolation over long periods of time, separated from...
, and as a result has a high diversity of plant and animal species and many microhabitats. Most of the plant and animal species in the park are also found in the Congo Basin
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
forests, with many of these species reaching the eastern limit of their range
Range (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
in Semuliki National Park.
The vegetation of Semuliki National Park is predominantly medium altitude moist evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
to semi deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
forest. The dominant plant species in the forest is the tree Cynometra alexandri. There are also tree species of a more evergreen nature and swamp forest communities.
The park has more than 400 bird species, for example the lyre-tailed honey guide
Honeyguide
Honeyguides are near passerine bird species of the order Piciformes. They are also known as indicator birds, or honey birds, although the latter term is also used more narrowly to refer to species of the genus Prodotiscus. They have an Old World tropical distribution, with the greatest number of...
. 216 of these species (66% of the country’s total bird species) are true forest birds, including the rare Forest Ground Thrush (Turdus oberlaenderi) and Sassi’s Olive Greenbul (Phyllastrephus lorenzi). Nine species of hornbill
Hornbill
Hornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family...
s have been recorded in the park.
The park has over 60 mammal species, including forest buffalos
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, leopards, pygmy hippos
Pygmy Hippopotamus
The pygmy hippopotamus is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa . The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal...
, Mona Monkey
Mona Monkey
The mona monkey is an Old World monkey that lives throughout western Africa. The mona monkey can also be found on the island of Grenada as it was transported to the island aboard slave ships headed to the New World during the 18th century. This guenon lives in groups of up to 35 in arboreal regions...
s, water chevrotains
Chevrotain
Chevrotains, also known as mouse deer, are small ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only members of the infraorder Tragulina. There are 10 living species in three genera, but there are also several species only known from fossils...
, bush babies
Galago
Galagos , also known as bushbabies, bush babies or nagapies , are small, nocturnal primates native to continental Africa, and make up the family Galagidae...
, civet
Civet
The family Viverridae is made up of around 30 species of medium-sized mammal, including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the two African linsangs....
s, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, and the Pygmy Flying Squirrel
Pygmy Scaly-tailed Flying Squirrel
The Pygmy Scaly-tailed Flying Squirrel is a species of rodent in the Anomaluridae family. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
(Idiuus zenkeri). Nine species of Duiker
Duiker
A duiker is any of about 21 small to medium-sized antelope species from the subfamily Cephalophinae native to Sub-Saharan Africa.Duikers are shy and elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; most are forest dwellers and even the species living in more open areas are quick to disappear...
s are found in the park, including the Bay Duiker
Bay Duiker
The Bay Duiker is a forest dwelling Duiker found in Gabon, southern Cameroon and northern Congo as well as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the southern parts of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Benin...
(Cephalophus dorsalis). The park has eight primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
species and almost 300 butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
species.
Human population
The forests in the park are of great socio-economic importance to the human communities that live near the park. The local people practise subsistence agricultureSubsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
and use the park’s forests to supplement their livelihoods. Some of the products they obtain from the forests include fruits and vegetables, bushmeat
Bushmeat
Bushmeat initially referred to the hunting of wild animals in West and Central Africa and is a calque from the French viande de brousse. Today the term is commonly used for meat of terrestrial wild animals, killed for subsistence or commercial purposes throughout the humid tropics of the Americas,...
, herbal medicines
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
, and construction materials. The local population is increasing
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
at a rate of 3.4% per year. The high population density and declining agricultural productivity combined with an unavailability of alternative sources of income means that the local population is dependent on the park's resources. The forest also plays an important cultural and spiritual role in local people's lives. The forests are also the home of approximately 100 Batwa
Great Lakes Twa
The Great Lakes Twa, also known as Abatwa or Ge-Sera, or in English Batwa, are a pygmy people who are generally assumed to be the oldest surviving population of the Great Lakes region of central Africa, though currently they live as a Bantu caste...
people, an indigenous community who still largely live as hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s.
Past practises of the managing authorities that excluded the local people created resentment among them. This reduced the effectiveness of conservation practices and contributed to the occurrence of illegal activities. Since the 1990s, the Ugandan Wildlife Authority has involved the local communities in park planning.
Civil unrest took place in the Bundibugyo District between 1997 and 2001. On 1997-06-16, Allied Democratic Forces
Allied Democratic Forces
The Allied Democratic Forces is a rebel group opposed to the Ugandan government. It is based in western Uganda with rear bases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It began as a minor group in the forested Ruwenzori mountain range along the border in 1996, but expanded its activities over the...
rebels attacked and took over the town of Bundibugyo
Bundibugyo
Bundibugyo is a town in Western Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Bundibugyo District and the district headquarters are located there.-Location:...
and occupied the Semuliki National Park headquarters. The people who lived near the park were moved to internally displaced people's camps.