Protected area planning in the tropics: Uganda's national system of forest nature reserves

• Published in: Conservation biology Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 858 - 875
• Main Authors: Howard, P. C., Davenport, T. R. B., Kigenyi, F. W., Viskanic, P., Baltzer, M. C., Dickinson, C. J., Lwanga, J., Matthews, R. A., Mupada, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA, USA Blackwell Science Inc 01.06.2000; Blackwell Science; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biodiversity; Biodiversity conservation; Biological and medical sciences; conservation areas; Conservation biology; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Forest conservation; Forest reserves; forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; National parks; natural resource management; Natural resources conservation; Nature conservation; Protected areas; Species; Uganda; Africa; National park; Conservation area; Forests; Endemic species; Methodology; Site selection; Animal conservation; Biodiversity; Localization; Comparative study; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99180.x

Uganda is one of the most biologically diverse countries in Africa, with much of its biodiversity represented in a system of 10 national parks, 10 wildlife reserves, and 710 forest reserves, covering 33,000 km2and the other half to environmental protection (with 20% as nature reserves). To select suitable sites, a 5-year, US$1-million program of biodiversity and resource assessment was undertaken, focusing on five biological indicator species groups and covering all the major forest reserves. Based on data generated by the field studies, we ranked each forest in terms of various criteria-(species richness rarity, value for nonconsumptive uses, timber production, and importance to local communities)-and used an iterative site selection procedure to choose the most suitable combination of forests for nature reserve establishment. Our procedure maximized complementarity in representing species and habitats in reserves across the whole protected-area system. We initially selected sites using purely biological criteria but later modified our procedure to ensure that opportunity costs and potential land-use conflicts were minimized. Our preferred network of sites included 14 forests that, in combination with the existing national parks, would account for 96% of species represented in the country's protected areas. These 14 forests were classified as "prime" and "core" sites and were selected for the establishment of large nature reserves (averaging 100 km2). The addition of 25 smaller "secondary" forest nature reserves (averaging 32 km2) would protect more than 99% of the indicator species.