Sango Bay Forest Reserve in Uganda What’s Your Opinion about this forest reserve in Uganda? Is there anything you would wish others to know about this forest reserve? If you have anything you want to tell us about this forest in Uganda, feel free to write. It is free, I promise to keep your voice (Comment) at this page. "Just click here to start your story, comment or criticism about this forest reserve or any other forest you’ve ever visited in Uganda. ________________________________________________ SAMUKA is one of ‘Wetlands of International Importance’ known as Ramsar Sites in Uganda. It is located 310 39’ – 31052’E and 00059’ – 00049”S, with an altitudinal range of 1,130 to 1,190m a.s.l. It is a Complex system composed of Sango Bay wetland; Kagera wetland and Flood Plain; and, encompasses Musambwa Island which lies about 3 km in the lake, from the Sango Bay shoreline - stretching to the Uganda-Tanzania National boundary, making it an important international cross-border management site. The site covers a total area of 55,110 hectares. The site has 331 species of vascular plants belonging to 88 families of these 122 are herbs, epiphytes or hemi-epiphytes belonging to 35 families; 68 lianas belonging to 38 families and 141 trees and shrubs belonging to 42 families. The forest has 30 species of highland type tree species including Podocarpus sp that is important for its soft wood, as well as 12 restricted range tree and shrub species (Davenport and Howard 1996). The Sango Bay Forest Reserve are complex swamp forests with adjacent wetlands in the Kagera river floodplain. The reserves are very extensive and are mostly swamp forests. The forests represent the largest tract of swamp forests in tropical eastern Africa, making it of global importance for biodiversity conservation, especially because of their high diversity and endemism (Howard, 1991; Kasoma and Pomeroy, 1996). Sango Bay Forest Reserve and Swamp are unique to the area in the whole world. They have a steep edges between the swamp grasses and the Forest. The site is a breeding ground for several fish species, contains globally endangered mammals and restricted range primate species and is considered to be a Pleistocene refugium. The African Elephant Loxodonta africana (Vulnerable) is a globally threatened mammal species found in the area. A subspecies of the Black and White Colobus Monkey Colobus guereza adolfi-friederici is restricted to Sango Bay in the Ugandan part of its range. In addition, a subspecies of the Blue Monkey Cercopithecus mitis doggetti occurs at Sango Bay as part of its limited range in southwestern Uganda, as well as the Sitatunga Tragelaphus spekii.The Wetland System contains globally threatened species of birds. The Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea (vulnerable). The Shoebill Balaeniceps rex (threatened) also occurs in the seasonally flooded swamps in Sango Bay area and is thought to occur in large numbers in the Kagera extensive wetlands. The site has huge congregations of migratory White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus. Unique to the area are Acacia woodland along the Bukola system; Papyrus mixed with Vossia swamp along the Kagera and Bukola Rivers; Phoenix species in the swamp forest; Miscanthus and Loudetia community in the permanent swamps; The area, also, contains one of the World’s Stone Age Sites, internationally known as the Sangoan, which dates to about 200,000 years ago. Sango Bay Forest Reserve and Musambwa Islands The Musambwa islands are three small rocky islands lie in the Lake Victoria. The largest is about 5 ha in area separated by about 800m from the smaller one covering about 3 ha and between them is the smallest which are just rocks jutting out of the water with little vegetation. The terrain of the islands is rugged, dominantly covered with shrubs of Earlangea spp interspaced with Ficus trees. The Musambwa islands section of the SAMUKA has 45 species of birds and it’s the biggest breeding colony of the Grey Headed gulls (Larus cirrocephalus) in Africa hence a site for global biodiversity significance and an Important Bird Area. It’s also a breeding ground for the Long tailed and Greater Cormorants, White Egrets, Egyptian geese and Black crakes. The island has reptiles like the African rock Pythons, Cobras, Vipers and Monitor lizards Sango Bay Forest Reserve with Kagera Wetland System Malabigambo Forest is contiguous with Kagera wetland and Floodplain, mainly composed of a mat of papyrus swamp sectioned by the meandering River Kagera. The Kagera wetland runs to the Tanzanian border. The major area of interest is the Kagera system and associated swamp forest in the Malabigambo Forest Reserve. The forest reserve is contiguous with the permanent swamp and completely floods in the wet season. The system has a high tourism potential ranging from sightseeing of the meanders which form letters of the alphabet, bird watching and it harbours crocodiles, hippos and statungas. Biological Significance of Sango Bay Forest Reserve The SAMUKA area is unique in many ways: It lies in the transition between the East and West African vegetation zones and this bio-geographical ecotone makes this area a unique complex of natural wetland and swamp forest. Sango Bay contains the biggest tract of swamp forest in Uganda. In addition, Sango Bay Forest Reserve represents a unique natural wetland type found in the transition of two vegetation zones within the biogeographic region. For this reason Sango Bay area is thought to be a Pleistocene refugium and extensive surveys of the swamp system may reveal more of the importance to conserve Sango Bay-Musambwa-Kagera area and its regional importance as a cross-border site. The Socio-cultural and economic values of the Sango Bay Ecosystem The SAMUKA system is of high socio-economic, national and international importance to the people living in the surrounding and distant areas. (apparently repeated down – unless this is a caption) The system is a source of fish to the people of the area, source of medicinal plants, raw materials for building and making crafts including luxurious sofa chairs and mattresses. The plains are also used for grazing and tourism has been developed on Musambwa Island. Many forest trees and wetland shrubs and herbs are used as medicine. The Phoenix poles are used for fencing and also crashed to form fibrous materials used for making luxury sofa chairs and mattresses. The wetland is also important as source of raw materials for handcrafts, building materials, fuel, and for hunting. Fisheries in wetlands, and especially based on the Clarias spp, is socially very important. The wetlands are targeted for the Clarias, which are used as bait for catching Lates niloticus from Lake Victoria. There are huge catches of Protopterus aethiopicus(Mamba), which is considered a local delicacy, from the wetlands fringing the Kagera and Lake Victoria. There has been a long history of cultural attachment to Musambwa islands, where women are not allowed to stay overnight. The Musambwa islands are important for the breeding of the Grey-headed Gulls. During periods of drought the local communities use the floodplains for grazing their cattle. Sango Bay Forest Reserve area contains one of the World’s Stone Age Sites. The Site internationally known as the Sangoan Archaeological Site is located both in the wetland areas of the woodland forest and has some of the tools which were used by Stone Age men approximately 200,000 years ago. The Site has Archaeological and Religious importance. Tourism potential in Sango Bay Forest Reserve The area has tourism potentials ranging from bird watching, site seeing, community visits and a number of cultural sites. _________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ OTHER FOREST RESERVES IN UGANDA _______________________________________________ Rwenzori Mountain Forest Reserve Mount Elgon Forest Reserve in Uganda Kasyoha Kitomi Forest Reserve in Uganda Bugoma Forest Reserve in Uganda Kalinzu Forest Reserve in Uganda Echuya Forest Reserve in Uganda Budongo Forest Reserve in Uganda Mpanga Forest Reserve in Uganda Kibale Forest Reserve in Uganda Impenetrable Forest Reserve Bwindi N.P. in Uganda Mabira Forest Reserve in Uganda Sango Bay Forest Reserve in Uganda Maramagambo Forest Reserve in Uganda Semliki Forest Reserve in Uganda
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