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WONDERFUL MABIRA 
Free tree seed!
 
 Vo l. 11  No. 2  Oc to ber,  2011
 
WONDERFUL MABIRA 
Millions of peopledepend directly andindirectly on Mabira for water for themselves,their crops andelectricity. That is partof the wonder of thisforest, which at almost30,000 hectares is thelargest tropical forestin the Lake Victoriacrescent.Compared to other Ugandanforests, it is well-stocked withtrees. Currently no part isencroached, and, according toNature Uganda, it has "regainedits original integrity" afterbanana growing was halted inthe forest in 1989. Water from Mabira runsnorthwards into Lake Kyoga.The forest is also critical for the"hydrology" of Lake Victoria toits south. It is, therefore, part of the package that allows Ugandato generate power at OwenFalls, Bujagali andin future at KarumaFalls.Inside the forest,after a rain storm, you hear the soundof raindrops gently falling on leaves through theforest canopy and undergrowthand eventually softly strikingthe ground.
 Xavier Mugumya,the Coordinator ClimateChange at National Forestry  Authority says,
“When the rainfalls on the leaves, they releasethe water slowly into the soil. When it enters the soil, some isheld by the roots of the trees andsome slowly enters the groundto form underground water. The water held by the roots movesslowly through the soil and endsup in River Musamya and RiverSsezibwa which flow into LakeKyoga.” Griffin Falls on RiverSsesibwa has hydro electricpotential. As he speaks, Mugumyaemphasises the words "slowly,softly and gently". He explainsthat Mabira mitigates extreme weather, stopping flooding and violent windand releasing water duringthe dry season.Mabira has over50 streamssupplyingthe densepopulation around it.Soil fertility is declining onthe land cultivated by thesecommunities. In contrast, in theforest, trees recycle nutrientsin the soil, and generally in thearea, the trees in Mabira slowrun off from rain.By so doing, Mabira reduces soilerosion, which in turn protectsthe rivers from sand, mud andother objects.These couldclog the mouthsof the riversand accumulatealong their riverbottoms.Tea andsugarcaneplantations around Mabira likeKasaku Tea Estate and SCOULare well watered as a resultof the forest.
KitamirikeJackson, seniorhydrologist with theDirectorateof WaterResourcesManagement inEntebbe, says
Mabira slows down the windsfrom the Indian Ocean. Cloudsform, bringing plentiful rainaround the Lake Victoria basin.
Dr Callist Tindimugaya,a Commissioner in theDirectorate of WaterDevelopment
, says Ugandais heading to "water poverty",measured as less than 1000m3 per person per year. Mabiraand other forests can preventthis.
BruceTumwesigyefeeds a babyelephant at UgandaWildlife EducationCentre. Elephantsused to roam inMabira just 100 years ago.Read more about this orphanedelephant fromKasese on page 3.His name is Ham.
Providing water, generating rain
Africa and theworld mournsWangari Mathaai,who led Kenyans,especially women,in planting 47million trees andprotecting many forests. Shepassed away on 26 September.May her soul rest in eternalpeace.
For free tree seed for your home, school or institution,contact Tree Talk at 4 Acacia Ave, Kampala or PO Box22366 or 077-2-564941 or info@ treetalk.or.ug Millions of pupilsare planting trees with Tree Talk.
Tree Talk's Gaster Kiyingi holds a fern, which is dripping with water after arainstorm. The forest captures water, slowly releasing it into rivers, wetlandsand the groundwater.
 
Tree Talk, October 2011
2
Mabira
cleans air, holds and captures carbon
Mabira forest is one of Uganda's protectors againstclimate change. At 29,294hectares in size, it containsover 8.5 million maturetrees each of which holdscarbon. These trees andabout another four million young trees absorb carbon ona daily basis.
By absorbing carbon, they slowthe dangerous process of global warming.Global warming is caused by too much carbon (and othergases) being released intothe atmosphere. In Africa thishappens mostly when forestsare cut for agriculture andduring bush burning."
Human activities arenow causing atmosphericconcentrations of carbon dioxide,methane, tropospheric ozone, andnitrous oxide to rise,"
explainsthe UN.These gases areforming a thick blanket aroundthe earth, andthis is makingthe world hotter. As a result,there are moredroughts, cropsoften fail, glaciers on mountainslike the Ruwenzoris are melting,and insect and water-bornediseases like malaria, yellowfever and cholera are becoming
Mabira:
strategic forest
Mabira forest has uniquebird, plant, primate(monkey), butterfly and treespecies. Thereare 287 typesof birds, 365types of plant,50 species of mammal and23 species of reptiles.This isastoundingbiodiversity!Biodiversity islike a safety netfor human beings. Insidebiodiverse environmentslike Mabira forest are many marvellous discoveries waiting to happen."Our great grandchildren
 A living laboratory rich in biodiversity 
may discover in Mabirasomething that we do notknow that may save the humanrace," says DrFred Babweteera,lecturer at theFaculty of Forestry and NatureConservation,Makerere University."We already knowthat one of ourtrees, Prunusafricana, is usefulfor treating cancer!”Mabira is a livingscience lab. Students fromover 200 schools a term visitthe forest and do not pay entry fees. Universities use Mabirafor research and training.The forest has picnic spacesand camping sites. water and nutrients in the soil.The bigger the tree, the morecarbon dioxide it takes in. SoMabira forest is a vital "carbonsink", taking carbon out of theatmosphere.Mabira sinks 17.1 milliontonnes of carbon dioxide a year.Dr Yakobo Moyini and MosesMasiga say that each hectare of standing primary (undisturbed)forest in Mabira holds 283tonnes of fixed carbon.Compared to the rich world, Africa emits little carbonand has contributed little toclimate change: countries in thenorthern hemisphere have beenpumping out carbon since theIndustrial Revolution in 1700s;common in places that wereonce cool.Global warming also causes"extreme weather" such asfloods and strong winds. Ugandahas suffered floods three timesin the past decade, far morethan in earlier decades. Thisis a signof climatechange.By holdingexistingcarbon andcapturingcarbon thathas been released by humanactivity, Mabira is like medicinefor global warming.Trees feed on carbon, sunlight,
Facts on Mabira
•
 Mabira Central ForestReserve was gazetted asa central forest reservein 1900 under theBuganda agreement.
• It is found in Buikwe,Mukono and Kayunga
districts and covers an
area of 305 km2.• The forest is the largest
natural high forest
in the Lake Victoria
crescent.
• It is an important
 water catchment forest.
It is the source of two
main rivers -- Musamyaand Sezibwa -- which
flow into Lake Kyoga.• It helps regulate
 temperature in centralUganda.
• It helps maintain thelevel of Lake Victoria
at over 1137m above
sea level. This is
essential for Uganda's hydroelectric power.
New York is said to use morepetrol in a week than Africadoes in a year. Yet, Africa is thecontinent most vulnerable andleast able to adapt.In just one example, some of Uganda's most profitable teaplantations could be "wipedoff the map" as temperaturesrise: 60,000 farmers could facedeclines in output and optimumtea-producing zones will shiftuphill to cooler areas, wrotescientist Peter Laderach, inFuture Climate Scenarios forUganda's Tea Growing Areas.Tea researcher Patrick Wetalaagreed that: "the rise intemperature is likely to leadto the plant wilting or utterly drying. The plucked leaf of thesurviving plants will give poorquality tea as the leaves willbe brittle. Another impact isthe coming into prominenceof previously minor pests anddiseases and the emergence of more virulent ones."Tea growing supports half amillion people in Uganda andbrings in US 90m a year.Climate change has already begun. Conserving Mabira isa critical way to slow it down.Protecting the forest protectsour water, agriculture andfisheries and makes economicsense.
For a report about Mabira, send an e-mail tonature@natureuganda.org or call +256414 540719
A forest guide in Mabira stands next to an ancient tree from
 the g or Ficus family. These have fruit which support manymammals, like monkeys, and birds, such as the great blue turaco (below).The burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, petrol, diesel) in vehicles and factories causes the majority of "carbonemissions" in the world. Like trees all over the world, treesin Mabira absorb carbon.
 
Tree Talk, October 2011
3
A hardworking boy sells traditional medicine.Above right:Forest-based crafts, women with rewood.
M
abira is surroundedby 12 subcounties with a populationof about 200,000 for whomthe forest is a source of livelihood. They depend onthe forest for medicinalplants, fuel and much more. 
They also trade with tourists who come to the forest. At Najjembe and Lwankimamarkets, vendors sell chickenon clean pieces of wood cutfrom a special forest shrubcalled
 Acalypha nepotunica
, which resists fire and keepsthe meat fresh. It regeneratesquickly so the traders have aconstant supply. They also sellhandicrafts, baskets and chairsmade from forest products.The forest provides thecommunity with enough fuelfor cooking. Under the NationalForestry Policy, people areallowed to pick dead (dry) wood
Local people 
 benefit from Mabira
for firewood fortheir own use. The value of firewoodfrom the forest is anestimated 61m/= a year. The forest alsosupplies local people with timber forbuilding, worth about986m/= per year.Communities aroundthe forest can farmall year roundbecause they gettwo rainy seasons.Imana Mukisa of Nagojje subcounty says they raise seedlingsof cabbages and tomatoesin the forest.Saudha Nakibuuka says, "We getrainfall more than any other partof the country. The trees help usto shelter our houses and cropsfrom violent winds." which treats skin diseases.There is also the tree
 Spanthodia campanulata
(Kifabakazi), which is used to easeand shorten labour pains inexpectant women. We use kabombo for treatingmeasles and treating ourchicken.”Moses Bajwaha of THETA,an organization whichlinkers herbalists to medicalpractitioners, says the forestprovides medicine from the
 Erythrina abyssinica
(Muyirikiti)tree for treating peptic ulcersand from the
Warburgiaugandensis
(Mukuzanume) tree which treats fevers.Between 1975 and 1989, about24% of Mabira was lost toencroachment. Severe agriculturalencroachment started in 1975following Idi Amin’s doublecrop production campaign thattargeted natural forests.Rainfall began to decline in thearea as trees were cleared. "Thisclearly shows that with less forestcover, there is less rain," saysMabira forest manager, JohnGiribo. Later, the soils becamedegraded.But by 1989, encroachment washalted. "The people who hadsettled here cut down trees togrow bananas," said forester CDLangoya. "In 2006, after theireviction, the forest is going back to its original state.The trees have regenerated without anyone planting more."There was an upward trend inrainfall in Jinja and Mukono asMabira recovered.Loss of rain is a great dangerassociated with deforestation. Asecond is soil erosion. A third isdamage to watersheds.Experts Y Moyini and M Masigaexplain that forests preventsiltation and sedimentationof watersheds. "The effects of forest cover removal can bedramatic."Finally, desertification is adanger. The famine in theHorn of Africa has beenlargely caused by decades of deforestation which has turnedfertile land into desert. Somalia, which has lost a significantamount of its forests, is the worst hit by the crisis.Illegal charcoal exports toGulf states provide incomefor radical groups. "Corruptbusinessmen export charcoal,and the money is used toperpetuate the killing of civilians," said a Somalienvironmentalist sadly.
The dangers
 
of deforestation
The community refers to theforest as Jajja Mabira -- meaningtraditional healer -- becauseof its medicinal value.
LuyimaBadru
says, “When we are sick, we get herbs like omwolola,
Simon's job well done
 Simon Peter Amunau joinedTree Talk in 2002 afterUniversity.
 
He was StraightTalk's rst forester.He built up Straight Talk Foundation's work in treesand was responsible forleading the planting of over 3million trees.Today STF has 25 forestersand in 2010 planted over 70%of all trees grown by civilsociety in Uganda.He was hardworking, fair andChristian. He now moves toa new job but remains ourfriend and colleague.Above, you can see him hugging a Mvule thatTree Talk planted in Pader in 2006. Forestry issatisfying because you help the world.
 Would you like
to be a forester?
A baby
 
elephant called Ham
Pauline Lanyero
is one of 
152 young people that MvuleTrust has supported to study 
forestry at the NationalForestry College. Forestry is
a "hot cake". You can work for the
district, a private treegrower, NFA or an NGO. And you can raise trees on yourfamily land.For more informationcontact National Forestry College, Private Bag, Masindi
or call 0392-301114
The most important thingin the world to a baby elephant is its mother andextended family. When ababy elephant loses itsparents, it can fall intodespair. At UWEC in Entebbe,animal technician BruceTumwesigye is a mother-substitute for Ham. Youcan see how Ham has tobe close to Bruce at alltimes."It is imperative to takecare of the mind of the orphan as well asthe physical aspect,so that they growup psychologically stable," explainkeepers at Kenya'sDaphne Sheldrick  Animal Orphanage.If you see a wildanimal in distress,call UWEC on 0414-320520 or 0414-322169. They canstage a rescue.
Fores t  Value
•
 Timber-UG X 8.2billion /yr
• 
Carbons tored- UG X 2.45 billion /yr
•
 Wa tershedprotec tion- UG X 2.44billion/ yr
•
Medicinal  value-UG X 477 million /yr
• 
Ar t andcraf t value - UGX 508 million/ yr
•
Communitywatersuppl y value-UG X 157million /yr
•
 To talx edvalueo fMabira- Ugx  15.3 billion/ yr
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