Also reffered to un wanted weeds, Invasive species are a global phenomenon, which Ugandan protected areas have not been spared from. Some of these species have invaded the country’s national parks like Mt.Rwenzori.
Queen Elizabeth National park, the country’s most visited park known for its climbing lions, over 94 and 500 mammal and bird species respectively, hasn’t been spared. According to Authorities here, invasive species have become a major set back in this park due to their notoriety.
According to James Okware, Senior Warden at Mt.Rwenzori National Park, he pointed out that one of the species that have taken tool on park vegetation was the Diclo stacus Sinalea specie popularly known as Kalema Njojo not forgetting lantanna camara, spear grass and the congress weed.
“The specie has taken up big spaces in the park. And when they grow in an area, they suppress other vegetation and it can’t grow in that particular space,” he said.
The congress grass in particular is poisonous and cant be fed on by wildlife and also causes an itchy sensation when it comes into contact with the human skin.
The spread of Invasive species around protected areas of uganda has increased the human-wildlife conflicts as park animals move out of the park in search of foliage and better food options.
This has risen the fear among various stakeholders that the number of tourists coming into Uganda could reduce as it is getting harder to see the animals in these parks which are always on the move in search for food.
In bid to fight the worry some and notorious weeds, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)hires local communities into the park to weed out the invasive species. High level mechanization is also used to help cub down this challenge. Bull dozers are used to uproot bigger invasive specie plants which are later bunt.
UWA has also invested into research on invasive species to acquire more knowledge on how best to counter check future challenges.
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