Conservationists have condemned a Ugandan High Court decision to permit Hoima Sugar Company Ltd to clear 900 hectares (2,223 acres) of Bugoma Forest Reserve for a sugarcane plantation, calling it “an unforgivable shame for all people.”
The April 2019 ruling, which deemed the land outside the protected forest area, ordered the National Forestry Authority (NFA) to vacate the site and remove military guards.
The NFA has appealed the decision, escalating a legal battle that threatens one of Uganda’s most biodiverse ecosystems.
The Controversial Lease
In 2016, Solomon Iguru Gafabusa, king of the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, leased 5,700 hectares of land to Hoima Sugar, a subsidiary of the Sarrai Group with a 70% stake in Kinyara Sugar Works, for 99 years.
The king claimed the land was ancestral and not part of the protected Bugoma Forest Reserve, gazetted in 1932.
However, the NFA contends that the land falls within the reserve’s boundaries, alleging the lease was based on a fraudulent title issued by the Ministry of Lands.
Hoima Sugar’s agriculture manager, Rajasekaran Ramadoss, defended the project, stating it would “improve the standard of living” through job creation, schools, a hospital, and an ecotourism project with an eco-lodge, walking trails, and a campsite.
The company’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), approved by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in August 2020, claimed the cleared area was grassland, not forest, and promised to replant degraded zones.
Ecological Stakes
Bugoma Forest, spanning 41,144 hectares 250km northwest of Kampala, is the largest remaining tropical forest in the Albertine Rift Valley, critical for wildlife migration corridors linking Budongo Forest and Semuliki National Park.
Home to 550 endangered chimpanzees, Ugandan mangabeys, 225 bird species, and 260 tree species, it was slated for national park status in 2019.
Conservationists warn that clearing even a portion risks irreversible biodiversity loss, disrupts the River Nile’s water levels, and undermines Uganda’s climate commitments, with forests shrinking from 24% of land in 1990 to 9% in 2015.
Costantino Tessarin, chairperson of the Association for the Conservation of Bugoma Forest, dismissed the debate over boundaries as “sterile,” arguing, “We are talking about an ecosystem of international importance that cannot be discussed in parts and pieces.”
He criticized sugarcane as an unsuitable buffer crop for a rainforest, citing its incompatibility with wildlife like chimpanzees and primates.
Community and Economic Impacts
Onesmus Mugyenyi of the Forest Governance Learning Group highlighted the threat to ecotourism investments, which could benefit local livelihoods more sustainably than sugarcane.
The forest supports rain-fed agriculture and acts as a carbon sink, vital for the oil-rich region’s environmental balance.
Critics, including ecofeminist Beatrice Rukanyanga, warn of long-term ecological and social damage, noting the project’s impact on rivers feeding Lake Albert.
Hoima Sugar’s history adds to concerns. Between 2013 and 2015, the company forcibly evicted 6,000 people from 1,300 acres in Kikuube District, with reports of an infant’s death during police-assisted evictions in 2017, drawing human rights criticism.
Compensation, as low as 30,000 Ugandan Shillings ($8) per acre, has left displaced communities struggling.
Legal and Public Backlash
The NFA’s appeal, filed after the 2019 High Court loss, challenges the land’s degazettement. In September 2020, Ugandan NGOs, including the Water & Environment Media Network, National Association of Professional Environmentalists, and Africa Institute for Energy Governance, filed an injunction against NEMA’s ESIA approval, arguing it was “shallow, inaccurate, and misleading.”
The Save Bugoma Forest campaign, backed by social media and petitions to President Yoweri Museveni, demands government intervention beyond legal battles.
Cathy Watson of World Agroforestry warned, “To throw away Bugoma would be to throw away rain, biodiversity, and Uganda’s reputation on the climate, forest, and wildlife front.”
As deforestation began in May 2020, three journalists and six activists were briefly arrested, signaling tensions around the issue.
Ongoing Debate
NEMA’s Christine Akello defended the ESIA, claiming only 9 of the 22 square miles leased were approved for sugarcane, with wetlands and forests protected.
However, activists like Gaster Kiyingi argue that grasslands are integral to the ecosystem, and Hoima Sugar’s assurances are misleading.
The NFA’s appeal, now before the Court of Appeal as of 2023, continues to challenge the land’s status, with conservationists pinning hopes on a Constitutional Court review.
The Bugoma Forest saga underscores Uganda’s broader struggle with land disputes and deforestation, raising questions about balancing development with environmental and cultural preservation.
