OPINION
As Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate world tourism day on September 27th 2025, the government should consider tourism over oil activities in Uganda.
The ongoing oil activities in Murchison Falls National Park among others are negatively impacting Uganda’s tourism sector by degrading natural habitats, fragmenting ecosystems and displacing wildlife, leading to human-wildlife conflict, and potentially damaging Murchison falls national park’s iconic status as a major tourist destination.
“Bugoma Central Forest reserve is a home of 570 of Uganda’s estimated population of 5,000 chimpanzees and 225 bird species and mangabeys,” IGEN-EA (2022)
Infrastructure development, including roads and well pads, leads to deforestation, which also alters the park’s ambiance, affecting various species including elephants, lions, chimpanzees and other nocturnal animals being affected by extreme light pollution from drilling rigs, also creating an industrial feel that detracts from the tourist experience and potentially reducing visitor numbers. It is important to note that Murchison Falls National Park. Conservationists and other stakeholders worry that leopards, lions, and various bird species could experience disrupted feeding patterns and potential displacement.
While most oil exploration impacts have centered on Murchison Falls, the Bugoma Forest Reserve in the Albertine Graben faces distinct but related challenges, though direct oil infrastructure in the forest itself is less recognized.
Bugoma is home to a significant population of chimpanzees and was identified by research as a potential major tourism destination for chimpanzee trekking. The controversy surrounding the forest and the threat of development compromise this potential.
According to research conducted on assessing the tourism opportunities of BCFR in 2022 by IGEN-EA a network that brings together over 26 civil society and private sector players that advocate for the promotion of sustainable and inclusive green economic activities including organic agriculture and sustainable fishing, clean energy, tourism and agro-forestry, Bugoma Central Forest reserve is a home of 570 of Uganda’s estimated population of 5,000 chimpanzees and 225 bird species and mangabeys which could be a tourism potential and conservation.
Despite the tourism potential of Bugoma, the continuous destruction with oil development activities in the forest could leave 11.4 % of chimpanzees and a number of bird species homeless.
The Uganda government together with Uganda Tourism Board should market chimpanzee and, Mangabey trekking, turn Bugoma Central Forest Reserve into a national park, initiate other tourism activities like forest walks and participate in efforts aimed at protecting the forest from oil, sugarcane and land grabbing threats.
UNESCO World Heritage Committee and other should engage with the Ugandan government to stop these activities and prioritize tourism.
By Doreen Asasira,
