Climate Adaptation
Ugandan Activists Turn to EU to Save Forest With Chimpanzees
- Conservationists oppose plans to clear part of Bugoma forest
- EU pressure may prompt inquiry into awarding of land
Photographer: Barcroft Media/Getty Images
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Ugandan activists are lobbying the European Union to back them in a campaign to halt the clearing of part of the country’s third-biggest forest, which is home to chimpanzees, forest elephants and unique plant species.
Conservationists want the EU, a key funder of state environmental agencies, to exert pressure on authorities to reverse a decision to clear 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres) of the 41,000-hectare Bugoma Forest and grow sugar cane, said Dickens Kamugisha, chairman of the “Save Bugoma Forest” campaign. Almost 60 non-governmental organizations are involved in the campaign.