Ssese Islands
Encyclopedia
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of eighty-four (84) island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s in the northwestern part of Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
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...
. The islands are coterminous with the Kalangala District
Kalangala District
Kalangala is a district in southern Central Uganda. The district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and does not have territory on mainland Uganda...
in southern Central Uganda
Central Region, Uganda
Central Region is a region of Uganda. It is coterminous with the Kingdom of Buganda, one of the ancient African monarchies that are constitutionally recognised in Uganda. It is divided into the following districts:...
, which does not have any territory on mainland Uganda.
Location
The islands occupy the northwestern corner of Lake VictoriaLake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. The largest island in the archpelag is called Bugala Island
Bugala Island
Bugala Island is the second largest island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, after Ukerewe Island. Its area is or . It is a part of the Ssese Islands in the Kalangala District. Chief town is Kalangala....
. Its largest town, called Kalangala
Kalangala
Kalangala is the 'chief town' of Kalangala District in Central Uganda. It is the location of the headquarters of Kalangala District. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
serves as the headquarters of the district that carries the same name (Kalangala District
Kalangala District
Kalangala is a district in southern Central Uganda. The district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and does not have territory on mainland Uganda...
). Kalangala is located located approximately 51 kilometres (31.7 mi), across water, southwest of Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
, in Wakiso District
Wakiso District
Wakiso District is a district in Central Uganda that encircles Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The district is named after the town of Wakiso, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
, on the Ugandan mainland. The coordinates of the district are:0° 26' 0.00"S, 32° 15' 0.00"E (Latitude:-0.4333; Longitude:32.2500).
The islands lie in two main groups. The south west can be referred to as the Bugala Group group, after Bugala Island
Bugala Island
Bugala Island is the second largest island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, after Ukerewe Island. Its area is or . It is a part of the Ssese Islands in the Kalangala District. Chief town is Kalangala....
, the largest in the archipelago. The northeastern group can be referred to as the Koome Group, after Koome Island
Koome Island
Koome is an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda. The correct spelling that matches the phonetic pronunciation is with two "O"s.-Location:Koome Island is located in Mukono district, in northwestern Lake Victoria, in Central Uganda. It is one of the eighty-four islands in the Ssese Islands archipelago...
, the largest in that group. The two groups are separated by the Koome Channel.
Other inslands in the Bugala Group include: Bubeke, Bufumira, Bugaba, Bukasa, Buyova, Funve and Serinya
Serinyà
Serinyà is a village in the province of Girona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain....
. The main islands in the Koome Group include: Damba
Damba
The damba is a species of cichlid fish from several river basins in northwestern Madagascar. This includes populations in far northern Madagascar that some have speculated represented an undescribed species, but a comparison of specimens did not support this, instead maintaining them as part of P....
, Koome and Luwaji.
Overview
The Ssese Islands are inhabited by the BantuBantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
speaking Bassese tribe, closely related to the Baganda
Baganda
The Ganda are an ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally comprising 52 tribes the Ganda have a rich history and culture...
and the Basoga, and speaking a similar, though distinct language. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the islands were one of the most important spiritual centers of the region. About forty-three (50%) of the islands are inhabited. The islands vary in size from less than 10000 square metres (2.5 acre), to over 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) in length for the largest island, Bugala Island
Bugala Island
Bugala Island is the second largest island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, after Ukerewe Island. Its area is or . It is a part of the Ssese Islands in the Kalangala District. Chief town is Kalangala....
.
Economic activity
The principal industryIndustry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
in the Ssese Islands is fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
for the huge Nile Perch
Nile perch
The Nile perch is a species of freshwaterfish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout muchof the Afrotropic ecozone, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger, and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of...
, with much of the catch being exported. Overfishing is a huge concern on these and other islands in Lake Victoria. Other industries include agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Livestock farming
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
is practiced on the islands. It is estimated that 3,000 cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, 250,000 poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
(chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
and ducks), 1,235 goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s and 7,000 pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s are kept on the islands.
BIDCO, a private palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
processor based in Jinja District
Jinja District
Jinja District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it is named after its main municipal and commercial center, Jinja.-Location:...
, on the mainland, owns a 15000 acres (6,070.3 ha) palm oil plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
on the islands. In addition, outgrower farmers grow palm oil on contract with BIDCO and sell their produce to the processor. In 2010, the palm oil plant began generating 1.5MW of electricity through the burning of bagasse
Bagasse
Bagasse is the fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice. It is currently used as a biofuel and as a renewable resource in the manufacture of pulp and paper products and building materials....
and some of the oil. The power supplies the oil processing plant and the excess is sold to Kalangala
Kalangala
Kalangala is the 'chief town' of Kalangala District in Central Uganda. It is the location of the headquarters of Kalangala District. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
, the legest town on the islands.
Logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
is another economic activity that is practiced on the Ssese Inslands.
Flora and fauna
The islands are also home to a variety of animals including primatePrimate
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...
s, which are not easily accessible on the mainland. This has led to the evolution of a nascent but growing tourism industry on the islands. Infrastructure is still rudimentary but is slowly improving.
External links
See also
- Kalangala DistrictKalangala DistrictKalangala is a district in southern Central Uganda. The district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and does not have territory on mainland Uganda...
- Koome IslandKoome IslandKoome is an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda. The correct spelling that matches the phonetic pronunciation is with two "O"s.-Location:Koome Island is located in Mukono district, in northwestern Lake Victoria, in Central Uganda. It is one of the eighty-four islands in the Ssese Islands archipelago...
- Bugala IslandBugala IslandBugala Island is the second largest island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, after Ukerewe Island. Its area is or . It is a part of the Ssese Islands in the Kalangala District. Chief town is Kalangala....
- Bugala Power StationBugala Power StationBugala Power Station is a 1.5 MW biodiesel-fired thermal power plant located on Bugala Island, in Kalangala District, in the Ssese Islands Archipelago, in Lake Victoria, in southcentral Uganda.-Location:...
- KalangalaKalangalaKalangala is the 'chief town' of Kalangala District in Central Uganda. It is the location of the headquarters of Kalangala District. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
- Central Region, UgandaCentral Region, UgandaCentral Region is a region of Uganda. It is coterminous with the Kingdom of Buganda, one of the ancient African monarchies that are constitutionally recognised in Uganda. It is divided into the following districts:...