Abstract:

The conference was held at the Nyabyeya Forest College in Masindi, to discuss how research has enhanced better forest management and the most pressing requirements for forestry research in the 21st century. It was organized by the Budongo Forest Project in collaboration with the Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Makerere University. The Budongo Forest Project is a nexus of research, conservation studies and applied information exchange. Research at the Project started in 1990, with the aims of investigating forest biodiversity in relation to logging practices, protecting the forest by promoting the sustainable use of forest resources and the welfare of vulnerable species, and working in partnership with local communities on projects geared to conserving forest biodiversity and improving the quality of life of people who live in the communities surrounding the Budongo Forest. So far, the fieldwork has included extensive studies of the effects of logging on the ecology of forest flora and fauna, and social and biological anthropology. It is planned that the Budongo Forest Project becomes a field station for the Makerere University Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation. The conference brought together the main results carried out in Budongo over the past 10 years, and the key interested parties (including researchers, educationists, forest managers, policymakers and those who derive their livelihood from Budongo Forest); this set the stage for demand-driven research, and for the coordination of forestry research and training in Uganda.