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Rwenzori Mountains National Park
The Rwenzori Mountains National Park covers nearly 100,000 ha in western Uganda and comprises the main part of the Rwenzori mountain chain, which includes Africa's third highest peak (Mount Margherita: 5,109 m). The region's glaciers, waterfalls and lakes make it one of Africa's most beautiful alpine areas. The park has many natural habitats of endangered species and a rich and unusual flora comprising, among other species, the giant heather.Threats to the Site:The security situation in the Rwenzori Mountains - rebels having occupied the site since 1997 - has prevented any conservation activity. With the inscription on theList of World Heritage in Danger, the World Heritage Committee called on the World Heritage Centre and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), working in close co-operation with the Ugandan body responsible for wildlife preservation, to consult non- governmental conservation organisations and other international organisations present in the region to discuss ways of making all the parties involved in the conflict aware of the need to respect the site's world heritage status and to develop projects to support site management.
ALTITUDE Ranges from 1,700m to 5,109m. Some 2,800ha lies below 2,000m; 11,000ha between 2,000m and 2,250m; 16,000ha between 2,250m and 2,500m; and 69,800ha above 2,500m.
PHYSICAL FEATURES The Rwenzori mountains comprise an extremely steep and rugged mountain range which includes Africa's third highest peak (Margherita, 5,109m), and a further twenty five of the peaks are above 4, 500m. The mountain range is "tilted", sloping steeply on the western side (Zaire), with gentler slopes on the eastern Ugandan side. Because of this shape, approximately 80% of the mountain range lies within the Ugandan side, and there are also differences in the soil and biodiversity of the two sides (Loefler, 1997). The highest reaches of the mountains are covered by snow fields and glaciers. Although not as high as Mount Kilimanjaro, and slightly lower than Mount Kenya, theRwenzori support a significantly larger alpine area than either (Butynski, 1992). The mountains consist of ancient basement complex rocks which were extruded from the surrounding plains during the formation of the western rift valley (Howard, 1991). These pre-cambrian rocks have produced soils of low fertility, except on parts of the northern ridge where volcanic ash from the Fort Portal plateau was deposited. The Rwenzori are a vital water catchment area, feeding the economically important Lakes Edward and George, and constituting the highest and most permanent sources of the River Nile. It is estimated that 500,000 Ugandans directly depend on the mountains for their domestic water supply as well as protection from flooding and other environmental hazards (Howard, 1991).
CLIMATE Conditions are dependent on altitude, but are also influenced by prevailing winds from the east and an annual two-peaked precipitation pattern (the wettest months are March to May and August to November). The Rwenzori are extremely wet, with rain falling on most days, including during the dryer months (Howard, 1991). No quantitative data are available.
VEGETATION The Rwenzori are well known for their unusual flora which includes many species endemic to the Albertine Rift in the higher altitude zones. Of the 278 woody plant taxa found in the afro-alpine zone, 81% are endemic to east Africa and 19% are found only in the afro-alpine belt (Herberg, 1961; Lush, 1993). Most stunning are the giant heathers, ground-sells, ericas and lobelias of the tree heath and alpine zones (Butynski, 1992). Vegetation depends largely on altitude, with five zones being distinguishable. Below 2,400m, the vegetation is broken montane forest consisting of species such as Symphonia globulifera, Prunus africana, Albizia spp. and Dombeya spp. Few large trees occur and the canopy is consequently broken except in valley-bottoms and ridge tops where the gradient is slight. The montane forest zone merges into a bamboo forest zone (Arundinaria alpina), which occurs in pure stands in many places up to an altitude of 3,000m. Up to 3,800m, the bamboo zone is replaced on poorer soils by a tree heath vegetation consisting of dense thickets of giant heathers, Philippia trimera and Protea kingaensis, frequently over 10m in height. On better soils the vegetation is characterised by a tangled undergrowth punctuated by a mixture of small trees including Rapanea rhododendroides, Hypericum lanceolatum, H. keniense and Hagenia abyssinica. Upwards to 4,400m, is a zone of Afro-alpine moorland (Howard, 1991). As a result of most botanical effort having been directed to the high altitude flora, only 75 tree species (18% of the country's total) have so far been recorded in the montane forest zone; many more are expected from this zone. Two trees are found only in the Rwenzori (Hypericum bequaertii and Schefflera polysciadia), and seven others occur only here and in the other montane forest zones of south-west Uganda, namely Senecio erici-rosenii, S. adnivalis, Erica kingaensis, Philippia johnstonii, Vernonia adolfi-friderici, Ficalhoa laurifolia and the nationally threatened Ocetea usambarensis (V) (Howard, 1991).
FAUNA Knowledge of the fauna is skewed in favour of the higher altitude species. Overall, the mountains contain at least 89 species of forest bird (27% of the country's total), 4 species of diurnal primate, and 15 species of butterfly (22% of the country's total) (Howard, 1991). Although none of these species are unique to the Rwenzori, many are endemic to the Albertine Rift region (for instance 19 of the birds are Albertine Rift endemics), and a high level of sub-specific endemism occurs, including the Rwenzori colobus monkey, hyrax and leopard. A recent study of invertebrate life forms listed 60 species in the alpine zone, 25 of which were new to science (Salt, 1987). This is indicative of a much more extensive fauna waiting to be discovered. Although in low numbers, the following globally threatened speciesare found in the park: elephant Loxodonta africana (V), chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (V), l'hoests monkey Cercopithecus l'hoesti (V).
CULTURAL HERITAGE The Rwenzori Mountains are the homelands of the Bakonjo and Baamba peoples. The Bakonjo are a Bantu-speaking people who have lived on the mountain for many generations, and whose culture is adapted to the steep slopes and climate of Rwenzori (Yeoman, 1992).
LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION In 1910, the colonially imposed political boundary between Zaire and Uganda divided the Bakonjo, Baamba and the related Banande people of the Zairean sector, who have never fitted comfortably into this artificial division (Yeoman, 1992). The Rwenzori area is home to some three hundred thousand Bakonjo people (Loefler, 1997). No people currently live within the park, although cultivation is evident in many places up to its border. Traditional uses of forest resources were permitted under the former Forest Reserve designation, including the extraction of building materials, fibres, firewood and medicinal plants. These activities have mainly been carried out on a sustainable basis, and new agreements have been made respecting these harvesting rights. Illegal hunting of small game no longer continues, possibly due to a decline in animal populationsu (Loefler, 1997). In the 1960s coffee, mountaineering and the Kalimbe mine brought prosperity and improved health services and infrastructure to the region. However apart from agriculture, the park is the main source of income for the local communities (Loefler, 1997).
VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES The Rwenzori mountains are a spectacular, if strenuous, tourist attraction, that have attracted visitors for the greater part of this century. The number of tourists grew from 226 in 1987 to 1,325 in 1991. Over seven thousand visitors came between 1990-1995, who spent an average of five to six nights on the mountain (Loefler, 1997). With the support of USAID, a local NGO known as Rwenzori Mountains Service (RMS) has been established to provide logistic support to visitors including guides, and is slowly developing eco-tourism structures such as pathways, mountain huts and foot-hill hotels. At present, however, apart from a small hostel at Ibanda (the park headquarters), visitors are encouraged to stay in Kasese town. The latter is the western rail head of the single east-west railway line serving the country, and RMS has successfully graded the road to Ibanda from where mountain treks begin. Uganda National Parks intends to take over some of the responsibilities of RMS now that the Rwenzori have been gazetted a national park. This decision is inspired partly by the wish to prevent private NGOs and companies from monopolising the tourism trade. Trails in the lower montane forest are expected to be created for those visitors not disposed to mountaineering.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES The most extensive ground survey work of the mountains was conducted by Howard (1991) between August 1985 and September 1986, as part of a large scale Forest Department inventory. Yeoman (1989) also collected much baseline biodiversity data during the preparation of his book 'Africa's Mountains of the Moon: Journeys to the Snowy Sources of the Nile'. Salt (1987) made a study of the invertebrate species in the high altitude alpine zone of the range. No permanent scientific facilities currently exist in the area.
CONSERVATION VALUE The Rwenzori mountains, which are known internationally as 'The Mountains of the Moon', are a site of world-renowned aesthetic and scientific value, the most permanent sources of the River Nile, and one of the country's (and indeed region's)most vital water catchments on which greater than 500,000 people directly depend. Due to their immense altitudinal range, the mountains support an outstanding range of species, many of which are endemic to the Albertine Rift region, especially in the higher altitude zones. Also present are at least three globally threatened mammals, plus a potentially large number of undocumented invertebrates and plants. Because the park constitutes a small but significant element of one of the most extensive conservation zones in Africa (the transnational system of protected areas in the Albertine Rift region) conservation of the Rwenzori offers a unique opportunity to maintain a sensitive and extensive natural habitat intact (Howard, 1991).
posted to World Heritage Sites. at Mon Jan 26 13:19:48 EST 2004.
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