Budongo

Location

The Central forest reserve lies in Bugahya county in Hoima,Buliisa and Masindi districts.  It is in 700-1270m above sea level between 1o 37' and 2o 03'N, and 31o 22' and 31o 46'E, and covering an area of 793 km2.
Management History:
On August 2nd 1932, all the high forest blocks that are included in the prescription of the working plan were gazetted as ‘un demarcated Crown Forest’ under vanucular names of the different areas (Harris, 1934). In light of knowledge acquired in survey of the forest and existing economic considerations, provision was made for immediate operation of two independent units of mahogany extraction (Mwima, 1998). Budongo has been sustainably managed since 1920s with clear management harvesting plans (Eggeling, 1947, Plumptre and Reynolds, 1994). With the coming up of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, the management plans were revised to include conservation of biodiversity. In 2003, under a restructuring program, the management of the Central Forest Reserve changed from Forest Department to National Forest Authority.
Biodiversity status:
The forest section (53%) of the reserve can be classified as medium altitude moist semi-deciduous forest with equal amounts of Celtis-dominated, Khaya-dominated and Cynometra-dominated sections. The remaining 47% comprises grassland communities thought to be capable of supporting forest. Flora and fauna is diverse and of conservation importance although increasing human activities may represent a threat to the forest’s integrity.
The biodiversity and conservation importance of five indicator taxa (Howard, et al, 1996) surveyed in Budongo is as follows:
Trees & Shrubs:      465 recorded species
Birds                       359 species
Small mammals          24
Butterflies                 289
Large Moths              130

When compared to other Forest Reserves in terms of conservation value, Budongo is in the top 10% of sites for trees and shrubs and large moths, and above average for butterflies and birds.

The Nahan’s Francolin categorised by the 2007 IUCN Red list as an endangered species has been recorded in the forest. Other endangered species in the forest include the Chimpanzees
The reserve is continuous with the Murchison Falls National Park, Bugungu Wildlife Reserve, and Karuma Wildlife Reserves, important tourist destinations. The reserve is also a source of Rattan cane for making furniture.
Ecological functions.
On top of moderating micro-climate and absorption of greenhouse gases, the reserve is drained by two rivers namely Sonso and Waisoke, on top of the many seasonal swamps. It is a home to both endangered and restricted range wildlife species.
Ecological, climatic and edaphic conditions
Underlying rocks are ancient gneisses, schists and granulites of the basement complex overlain by the Bunyoro Series sediments in a small area of the Siba block.
Soils are ferralic mainly sandy or sandy clay loams of low moderate fertility.
Climate is tropical with two rainfall peaks from March to May, and September to November. Annual mean temperature range, minimum: 17-20oC, maxmum: 28-29oC.