The Ecology and History of Uganda's Budongo Forest

Abstract

A tropical rainforest is an ecological complex that interacts both directly and indirectly with a multitude of external factors, including its human population. This paper examines the ecological interaction of the Budongo Forest of Bunyoro, Uganda, with the human population of the area over the past century3 The Budongo Forest is located in the center of the kingdom of Bunyoro in the western region of Uganda. Throughout history, the direct and indirect effects of human activities have modified the vegetational communities of the Budongo from their original conditions. Much change has occurred within the last century at the instigation of Europeans, but the major modifiers of forest patterns in Africa, fire (most frequently of anthropogenic origin) and elephants, have been active in Uganda for thousands of years.2 Climatic conditions over the last millennium would seem to have favored the natural expansion of the Budongo Forest, but instead a combination of human and wildlife activity constrained the forest. Prior to European contact, human-generated fires, set to clear away dry growth from the previous year and engender fresh, new grass for cattle, also cleared away the savanna bush growth and swept right up to the edges of the forest. These annual fires and the large elephant population kept the forest blocks of Budongo and Siba from spreading into surrounding savanna lands. The arrival of Europeans, however, changed the pattern of interacting effects significantly. The Europeans suppressed and controlled fires, periodically removed large animals, and managed the forest for timber production. The overall results were a less diverse forest, fewer species, and the elimination of most large wildlife. Such conditions favored the forest's expansion into the savanna. Though it is often discussed in the disciplines of primatology, zoology, and botany, the Budongo Forest is represented by a very limited corpus of other research, including historical literature. Although Uganda was a protectorate under the British Empire during the period from 1890 to 1961, it was administered with an absolute minimum of expense to the Crown, which supported only a very limited amount of research.3