Bugoma Forest in Kikuube District remains under threat as illegal activities including tree cutting, charcoal burning, and farming persist despite government efforts to demarcate the forest boundaries.
Environmentalists warn that continued depletion of the forest risks displacing chimpanzees and undermining the area’s growing eco-tourism sector.
Estimated at 41,144 hectares, Bugoma Forest has increasingly been encroached on for farming activities such as sugarcane and maize cultivation, as well as timber harvesting and charcoal production.
In early February 2026, Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba launched a pillar-planting exercise aimed at demarcating the forest’s 158.8 square miles from private land.
The minister said the exercise, being led by the Ministry of Lands in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Environment, seeks to establish clear boundaries and restore degraded areas.
“As the Ministry of Lands, we are leading the exercise because it falls under my docket. We will work with the Ministry of Water and Environment who are charged with protection. Our officials will lead the exercise and pillars must be planted. All we want is to protect nature and restore areas that have already been depleted,” Nabakooba said.
She also directed that clear boundaries be established between the forest reserve and neighbouring entities, including Hoima Sugar Limited and businessman Mustafa Zaidi, identified in a 2023 survey as the only neighbouring claimants among 22 applicants.
However, environmental activists say the demarcation process has been compromised.
Constantino Tessarin, chairperson of the Association for Conservation of Bugoma Forest, alleges that some officials are colluding with private individuals to uproot existing pillars installed by the National Forestry Authority and reposition them deeper into the forest.
“When they talked about boundary opening and demarcation, most of us were happy because we thought the forest would finally be safe. But the original NFA pillars are being uprooted by Lands Ministry officials conniving with private individuals and extending them about two kilometres into the forest for nearly 15 kilometres,” Tessarin claimed.
A visit to the forest shows ongoing tree cutting, charcoal burning and timber harvesting, with large sections already cleared for cultivation as the planting season begins.
Tour guide Ignatious Nazario warned that continued destruction of the forest could force wildlife to migrate, particularly the chimpanzees that attract tourists to the area.
“The number of tourists coming to visit Bugoma chimpanzees and mangabeys has increased lately, but with the continued cutting of trees, many animals may run away because their habitats are being destroyed,” he said.
Tessarin questioned the government’s commitment to conservation, noting that Bugoma Forest is often promoted internationally as a tourism destination.
“Recently we went to Germany for tourism discussions and Bugoma Forest was among the key attractions highlighted. Yet look at how it is being depleted. We appeal to the president and the minister for lands to send independent teams that cannot be compromised by wealthy individuals shifting boundary pillars,” he said.
Kikuube Resident District Commissioner Godwin Angalia acknowledged ongoing encroachment but said the boundary demarcation exercise will enable authorities to take firm action against illegal occupants.
“We have deployed the army and police. If we find any pillar uprooted, the first suspect will be the person cultivating in that area, and they will be arrested because uprooting pillars is a criminal offence,” Angalia warned.
Meanwhile, Tom Rukundo, Director of Forestry at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said the National Forestry Authority will intensify enforcement once the demarcation exercise is completed.
“Those currently in the forest should begin preparing to leave. Once the boundary opening exercise is done, no one will be spared. Gardens inside the forest will be destroyed and anyone disturbing nature will face the law,” he said.
