Drivers of deforestation in Bukaleba forest reserve, Mayuge district.

Abstract

Deforestation, especially in the tropics, continues to occur at alarming rates. This continued loss of forest cover poses a major threat to continued availability of' goods and services that support livelihoods of a huge proportion of the human population especially in developing countries. Despite numerous interventions by governmental and nongovernmental entities to combat deforestation, forest covet has continued to decline. In Uganda, forest cover declined from about 10.6% in 1989 to about 4.3% in 2009. The objective of the study was to identify key drivers of deforestation in Bukaleba forest reserve. Data as obtained from archival sources interviews and direct observation while data analysis was done using SPSS. Deforestation appears to have been a consequence of a number of causes which include agricultural expansion into forests, extraction of wood forest products population growth, clearing of forests for non-agricultural uses.