Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s most popular and biodiverse safari destination, is under serious ecological threat from an invasive wild plant species — the Sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea) — which has spread across vast sections of the park, choking wildlife habitats and costing the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) billions of shillings in management efforts.
According to Dr Eric Enyel, chief warden of Queen Elizabeth National Park, the plant has invaded close to 2,000 square miles, stretching from the Kazinga Channel to Kyambura, severely affecting wildlife distribution and visibility.
“The invasion has created confusion for animals and disrupted their natural movements. Fifteen years ago, this entire open space was full of tourists watching wildlife. Today, many animals have moved to other areas, leaving mainly elephants and lions,” Dr. Enyel said.
He added that removing the invasive species is extremely costly.
“It costs us about Shs 4 million per acre to clear the Sicklebush, and it now covers about 7,800 acres of the park,” he said.
The infestation is not only transforming the park’s ecosystem but also threatening tourism — one of Uganda’s biggest foreign exchange earners.
Philemon Tumwebaze, Ecological Monitoring and Research Officer at Queen Elizabeth National Park, explained that the savanna ecosystem is gradually turning into bushland due to changes in rainfall patterns and reduced fire activity, creating conditions that allow the Dichrostachys cinerea to thrive.
“Queen Elizabeth was once dominated by open savanna, but now the Sicklebush is taking over. We are manually uprooting it using local community groups, who are paid for the work. This also provides an alternative source of income for them through UWA,” Tumwebaze said.
He noted that local residents have started utilizing the uprooted plants to make charcoal — an initiative that helps reduce illegal tree cutting in nearby forests.
“So far, we have cleared 350 hectares in Kasenyi alone and replanted native grass species to restore grazing areas,” he added.
The invasive plant poses a major ecological challenge because it grows densely, forming thick canopies that suppress native grasses and prevent natural fires — an essential ecological process in savanna environments.
Current estimates indicate that over 40 percent of Queen Elizabeth National Park — roughly 79,120 hectares — has already been invaded by the Sicklebush.
Dr. Enyel warned that unless the government allocates additional funds to combat the spread, the park’s open savanna landscapes — and the wildlife tourism that depends on them — could soon disappear.