Bugoma Forest in the Crossfire: Land Conflict, Migration Pressures and the Fate of a Ugandan Biodiversity Hotspot
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Bugoma Central Forest Reserve (CFR) in western Uganda is one of the largest remaining blocks of Guinea–Congolian forest within the Albertine Rift, a globally important biodiversity hotspot facing increasing anthropogenic pressure. We integrated biodiversity surveys, remote‐sensing analyses, field‐based disturbance assessments, stakeholder interviews and statistical modelling to investigate ecological patterns of forest degradation and the socio‐political context in which these processes occur. We recorded 171 species across amphibians ( n = 53), reptiles ( n = 41), birds ( n = 67) and forest‐quality‐indicator beetles ( n = 10), confirming the high conservation value of Bugoma CFR. Between 2010 and 2025, 13.8% of the forest area mapped in 2010 was classified as non‐forest in 2025, based on the supervised Landsat classifications and subsequent pixel‐by‐pixel change analysis, with Kyangwali and Isangwe showing the most degraded conditions. Canopy loss and disturbance were strongly concentrated near settlements, roads and agricultural frontiers, indicating a clear edge‐driven pattern of degradation. Generalized linear models showed that species richness increased with forest cover but declined significantly with grazing pressure, charcoal production, agricultural encroachment and increasing distance from core forest habitat. Areas with greater combined agricultural and grazing pressure had a higher probability of severe habitat degradation. Stakeholder interviews identified weak enforcement, livelihood dependence on forest resources, land‐use conflicts and demographic pressures associated with nearby settlements as important contextual factors influencing perceived resource‐use pressures; these stakeholder‐derived factors were not directly tested as causal predictors of biodiversity. Together, these findings reveal a hierarchical degradation process linking accessibility, habitat loss, fragmentation and biodiversity decline. The study highlights the need for integrated conservation strategies that address both ecological processes and the underlying social drivers of environmental change.
Source: African Journal of Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/aje.70239
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7225788674