Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

East Africa > Uganda > Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Summary

© Cat Hobaiter

• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Bugoma Central Forest Reserve.
• The chimpanzee population size is unknown; the density in 2006 was 1.99 individuals per km².
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 400 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are hunting and clearing land for agriculture.
• Conservation activities have focused on providing clean water access and raising conservation awareness.

Site characteristics

Table 1. Basic site information for Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Area	400 km²
Coordinates	1.304, 31.016
Designation	Central Forest Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

In 2006, the density of chimpanzees was estimated to be 1.99 chimpanzees/km² (Plumptre & Cox 2006).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2006		1.99		Bugoma Forest	Line transects (Distance)	Plumptre & Cox 2006	Survey effort: 511.2 km

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes in Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Encroachment of forest habitat for farming affecting the boundaries (Hobaiter & Gruber pers. comm. 2020). Sugarcane companies are clearing land within the reserve (Lewton 2020).	Ongoing (2020)
3. Energy production & mining		Absent
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Busy dirt road cuts through the main forest block and divides chimpanzees' (and other species') territory - danger from speeding vehicles (Hobaiter & Gruber pers. comm. 2020).	Ongoing (2020)
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity unknown	The whole forest is affected.	Snares placed for duiker and bush pigs also trap chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are also directly targeted by hunters (Hobaiter & Gruber pers. comm. 2020).	Ongoing (2020)
5. Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present, but threat severity is unknown	The whole forest is affected.	Illegal logging is present throughout forest, in particular outside of the immediate research areas; includes chimpanzee feeding species. Trees illegally felled for charcoal burning and firewood, particularly around the boundaries (Hobaiter & Gruber pers. comm. 2020).	Ongoing (2020)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Absent
7. Natural system modifications		Absent
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	8.4 Problematic species/diseases of unknown origin	Present, but threat severity is unknown	The whole forest is affected.	Respiratory outbreaks. Other sites in Uganda have confirmed similar respiratory pathogens of human origin (Hobaiter & Gruber pers. comm. 2020).	Ongoing (2020)
9. Pollution		Absent
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather	11.1 Habitat shifting & alteration	Present, but threat severity is unknown	The whole forest is affected.	Some evidence that there is decreasing fruiting in forest trees, perhaps impacted by increase in overnight temperature lows (Hobaiter & Gruber pers. comm. 2020).	Ongoing (2020)
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The Bugoma Primate Conservation Project was established in 2015, and works in collaboration with local communities surrounding the reserve on a number of conservation activities, including school classes, plastic waste recycling, and clean water programs.

Table 4. Conservation activities in Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	Not reported
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	10.5. Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions	The Bugoma Primate Conservation Project visits local schools and communities to talk about the Bugoma Forest, and hold conservation film nights (Bugoma Primate Conservation Project n.d.)	Ongoing
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat		Ongoing
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	13.2. Provide non-monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g. better education, infrastructure development)	Clean water access program (Bugoma Primate Conservation Project n.d.)	Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Challenge	Source
Civil unrest	(Hobaiter & Gruber pers. comm. 2020)

Research activities

Following initial surveys in 2015, systematic habituation of chimpanzee communities started in 2016 and is ongoing. Several groups of Ugandan mangabey are already habituated. Systematic data collection on chimpanzee behaviour, forest tree phenology, illegal activities, rainfall, and temperature are collected by the Bugoma Primate Conservation Project.

Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Bugoma Central Forest Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Bugoma Primate Conservation Project
Bugoma Primate Conservation Project on Twitter

References

Lewton, T. (2020, November 5). Uganda environment authority greenlights clearing of Bugoma Forest. Online: https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/uganda-environment-authority-greenlights-clearing-of-bugoma-forest/
Plumptre, A.J., & Cox, D. (2006). Counting primates for conservation: primate surveys in Uganda. Primates, 47, 65-73.
Bugoma Primate Conservation Project (n.d.) Retrieved from: https://bugomaprimates.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/research/

Page completed by: Cat Hobaiter & Thibaud Gruber Date: 18/11/2020