Itwara Central Forest Reserve

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Summary

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• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Itwara Central Forest Reserve.
• The population size was estimated at 120 individuals in 2002.
• The population trend is unknown.
• Key threats to chimpanzees are logging, hunting and expansion of farmland.

Site characteristics

Itwara Forest is a medium-altitude, moist semi-deciduous forest located in Kyenjojo District, north of Kagura, within the Albertine Rift Region of Western Uganda. Covering a relatively small area of 87 km², the reserve features a steep, undulating terrain with elevations ranging from 1,220 to 1,510 meters. It is traversed by two rivers, Wamisu and Sogahi, which drain northward (Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership 2024).

The forest, which covers most of the reserve, supports approximately 258 plant species (NFA 2024), with dominant tree species including Parinari excelsa, Olea welwitschii, Carapa grandiflora, and Aningeria altissima, while grasslands make up only 20% of the reserve (Ministry of Water and Environment 2008; Howard 1991).

Itwara Forest provides habitat for 183 bird species, nine small mammal species, 256 tree and shrub species, 127 butterfly species, and 56 large moth species (Ministry of Water and Environment 2008). Notably, it supports a significant population of the butterfly species Telipna sheffieldii, qualifying it as a global Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) (Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership 2024). In addition to chimpanzees, other primate species reported in the reserve include black and white colobus, baboons, red-tail monkeys, L'Hoests monkeys and blue monkeys.

Table 1. Basic site information for Itwara Central Forest Reserve

Species	'Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii
Area	87 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 0.791389 , Lon: 30.471944
Type of site	Protected area (Forest Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest, Grassland
Type of governance	Governance by government

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Chimpanzees have been reported in the site since the early 90s and their abundance has been estimated at 120 individuals by (Plumptre, Cox & Mugume 2003). The chimpanzees are not fully habituated to human presence and an estimate of the number of communities is not available.

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Itwara Central Forest Reserve

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	1999-2002			1.35	120 (67-215)	Itwara Forest Reserve	Line transects	Distance sampling (decay time unknown)	Plumptre, Cox & Mugume 2003

Threats

Itwara Forest has been severely encroached and destroyed due to timber harvesting. It falls on the list of most affected forests, which includes Matiri, Muzizi, Bugoma and Oruha Forest Reserves (NFA 2024).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Itwara Central Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Low (up to 30% of population affected)	Hunting of chimpanzees is rare and not deliberate, as chimpanzees are not the target (Plumptre, Cox & Mugume 2003). Poaching reported in 1994 (Edroma et al. 1997).	1994-Ongoing (2003)
5 Biological resource use	5.3.2 Commercial logging	Present (unknown severity)	Timber harvesting has been reported (NFA 2024). 13.2 ha of the reserve were logged by 1994, 3.0 ha lightly pitsawn, and 3.5 ha heavily pitsawn (Edroma et al. 1997; Howard 1991).	1970-Ongoing (2024)
5 Biological resource use	5.3.1 Subsistence logging	Present (unknown severity)	Illegal harvesting for for charcoal burning is also having an impact on the forest reserves and chimpanzees. Charcoal burning has the potential to cause more damage if not carefully controlled, as people are less selective in the tree species they harvest for charcoal (Plumptre, Cox & Mugume 2003).	Ongoing (2003)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present (unknown severity)	The forest has been encroached for farmland, resulting in the loss of critical chimpanzee habitat and reduction in forest cover. More critically, forest connectivity and dispersal opportunities for chimpanzees has also been significantly reduced, preventing gene flow necessary to maintain viable metapopulations. In the long term, the inability to disperse could be the greatest threat to chimpanzee communities in these forests (Plumptre, Cox & Mugume 2003).	Ongoing (2003)

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Itwara Central Forest Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols	In 2023, WCS supported NFA in SMART training.	Wildlife Conservation Society and National Forest Authority	Ongoing (2023)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.13 Provide sustainable alternative livelihoods; establish fish- or domestic meat farms	Under Collaborative Forest Management groups, extra-forest activities like poultry keeping, pig-keeping, coffee, onion and/or potato growing and marketing are carried out so as to reduce pressure on reserve (Kazoora et al. 2020).	Kajuma Itwara Farmers and Environmental Conservation Association and National Forest Authority	Ongoing (2020)
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	Designated a central forest reserve in 1948. Additionally, It contains sufficient numbers of the butterfly Telipna sheffieldii to qualify as a global KBA (Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership 2024).	Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership	1948-Ongoing (2024)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Itwara Central Forest Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
3 Engaged community	3.1 General lack of community engagement or support	Kazoora et al. 2020	2003
2 Resources and capacity	2.2 Lack of staff	Ministry of Water and Environment 2008; NFA 2024	2008-Ongoing (2024)
2 Resources and capacity	2.5 Lack of equipment/transportation	Ministry of Water and Environment 2008	2008-Ongoing (2024)
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Kazoora et al. 2020; NFA 2024	2003-Ongoing (2024)

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Itwara Central Forest Reserve

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
3 Engaged community	3.6 Local community engagement and support	Kazoora et al. 2020	2003-Ongoing (2024)

References

Edroma, E., Rosen, N. and Miller, P. 1997. (eds) Conserving the Chimpanzees of Uganda. Population and habitat viability assessment for Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Apple Valley, MN.

Howard, P. C. (1991). Nature conservation in Uganda's tropical forest reserves (pp. xvii+-313).

Kazoora, C., Irumba, D., Smith, N., Mutamba, M., Nkabiheebwa, P., Katumba, G., & Nakiyingi, E. (2020). A review of collaborative forest management in Uganda. Kampala, Uganda: National Forestry Authority, Ministry of Water and Environment.

Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership (2024) Key Biodiversity Areas factsheet: Itwara Forest. Reserve.https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/site/factsheet/28632. Retrieved on Nov 19, 2024.

Ministry of Water and Environment, MWE. (2008). Forest Management Plan for Itwara Group of Central Forest Reserves, for period Ist July, 2008-30th June, 2018. Kampala, Uganda.

NFA, Uganda. (2024). Itwara Forest. https://www.nfa.org.ug/forests/itwara-forest/. Retrieved on 20th Novemeber, 2024.

Plumptre, A. J., & Cox, D. (2006). Counting primates for conservation: primate surveys in Uganda. Primates, 47(1), 65-73.

Plumptre, A. J., Cox, D., & Mugume, S. (2003). The status of chimpanzees in Uganda. Albertine Rift Technical Report Series No. 2. Wildlife Conservation Society

Page created by: Steven Joel Basiibye Date: 2024-11-01