Birds as biodiversity indicators in the planning of Forest Nature Reserves in Uganda

Abstract

Baltzer, M., Matthews, R., Howard, P., Kigenyi F. & Viskanic, P. 2000. Birds as biodiversity indicators in the planning of Forest Nature Reserves in Uganda. Ostrich 71 (1 & 2): 291. In Uganda a policy decision has been taken to set aside 20% of the nation's 1.4 million hectare forest estate as Forest Nature Reserves, for the protection of biodiversity. The estate comprises 713 Forest Reserves, ranging in size from just a few hectares to well over 100 000 hectares, scattered all over the country. In order to select appropriate areas for designation as Nature Reserves, the Forest Department (with assistance from the European Community and Global Environmental Facility) has evaluated all the larger reserves for biodiversity, focusing on birds and four other biological indicator groups (woody plants, mammals, butterflies and moths). Building on earlier work, teams of departmental staff carried out detailed systematic biodiversity surveys of 65 major forests between May 1992 and March 1995. The work on birds involved 1 442 person-days of field observation and 1.2 million metre net-hours of mist-netting effort. Altogether 5 744 species-site records were made, involving 604 of Uganda's 1011 species: this brings the total number of species known from Uganda's forest reserves to 841 (83% of the country's birds). Several species not previously known from Uganda were recorded, especially in the north and east of the country where birds of the northern (Sudan/Guinea) savannas and Somali-Masai regions reach the extreme limits of their ranges. The bird data have been analysed alongside comparable data for the other four indicator taxa. Fortunately, areas of high species richness and levels of endemism for the five groups tend to coincide. Priority conservation sites have been identified and a national network of Forest Nature Reserves has been designed as part of a representative and efficient protected areas system for Uganda.