As reported by Wilber Begumisa

The frenzy to industrialize remote areas is fast spreading. Many areas in Uganda are falling victim to this trend. The Uganda’s Maramagambo Rain Forest, which extends to Queen Elizabeth national park, and a habitat to several bird species and plants of immense medicinal value to human beings, has not survived this frenzy. Just miles away from Maramagambo, the French global industrial conglomerate Larfage’s local cement company Hima is likely to extend to its immediate neighborhood of the globally recognized Ramsar wetland site in search for limestone.

The Mpanga Gorge that extends from Kibale Forest national park into the Queen Elizabeth national park towards lake George has been subjected to a hydro-electric power plant development despite the national park boundary being cearly above the waterfalls, which puts the development in the vicinity of the protected area, something that is unpleasant to conservationists.

Surprisingly, the Mpanga River Gorge is a natural habitat to rare species of cycad trees which is the largest concentration in the world. A US-based company is preparing to clear off the whole forest, which a famous environmental journalist has termed as “a crime against our environment”.

Meanwhile Uganda Wildlife Authority has convened a meeting for business, academic and scientific opinion leaders in early June under the title, “Leadership for Conservation in Africa”. This meeting is to deliberate upon planned UWA investments in and around protected areas to make nature and wildlife based tourism a bigger economic force in Uganda.