Assessment of the threats to conservation of mt. moroto central forest reserve and their effects on the livelihoods of tepeth people in moroto district, Uganda

Mt. Moroto Central Forest Reserve is a unique, rich and vital ecosystem which acts as one of the key water catchment areas in Karamoja region. The forest reserve supports the livelihoods of marginalised, forest dwelling, indigenous people known as Tepeth who depend on it for shelter against other armed neighbouring ethnic groups, as a source of food, honey, herbal medicine, energy and spiritual values. For centuries, Tepeth have applied and practiced traditional norms to protect the forest cover, unique trees species of spiritual, medicinal and food values. However, in the recent years, the utilisation of forest resources has been commercialised, forest cover converted to crop fields and pro-conservation traditional norms undermined, with far reaching consequences on the integrity of the forest reserve and the livelihoods of indigenous people. A study was carried out to identify major threats to the conservation of the forest with the view of coming up with strategies for sustainable management of the ecosystem and enhancement of people’s livelihood. Focused group discussions with forest resource users were carried out, consultative meetings with leaders held, a questionnaire was administered to randomly selected kraal members and field observations made. The results indicated that Mt. Moroto Central Forest Reserve was experiencing unprecedented human pressure in form of deforestation, mineral exploitation, fires, conversion to agricultural fields, charcoal burning and over grazing which had exacerbated forest degradation, food insecurity and loss of good traditional norms, which for a long time had enabled local people to protect the forest. It was established that conversion of the forest to crop fields was the greatest threat to the integrity of the central forest reserve. This was confirmed by 40.7% (n = 44) of the respondents. The findings also revealed gaps and weaknesses in the management of the forest. It was evident that there was urgent need for the forest management authority to formulate and implement an integrated management plan that sets priority interventions required to restore the integrity of the forest reserve, recognises the role of indigenous people and their traditional norms in conservation and promotes collaborative forest management.