Merits and demerits of wild life conservation in west Bugwe central forest reserve in Uganda to the neighboring communities.

Abstract

This research project documented the merits and demerits of wildlife conservation in West Bugwe Forest Conservation Reserve to the neighboring communities. A case study was conducted in West Bugwe Forest Central Forest Reserve (WBCFR) in the month of January of 2022. A household survey and key informant interviews were used to collect information on the merits and demerits of wildlife around WBCFR. The study of 22 respondents in the neighborhood of WBCFR, Busia district results showed that the most practiced occupation in both villages of Ndaiga and Buyaga were crop farming (46% in both) followed by Agro- pastoralism (27%), Hunting (18%), Trading (9%) and the last occupation was Non farming jobs e.g. building, teaching with 9%. It was observed that source of food was highest benefit which took the biggest percentage as shown in graph 1 and graph 2. It was also observed that few community members are employed in the forest and this made source of employment to emerge the last benefit from both communities. The biggest challenge faced by wildlife that was presented in both villages was deforestation and climate change followed by poaching, Epidemic diseases, and the least challenge was habitat fragmentation. The frequently mentioned measure by the members from the two communities were putting strict laws by the government (80%), followed by proper boundary demarcations and fencing (75%), collaborative forest management followed with 65% and eco-system restoration (60%).

Keywords: Merits, Demerits, Challenges and Measures.