Kibale National Park (7046)
Uganda, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1c
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Kibale National Park
Central coordinates: Latitude: 0.4600, Longitude: 30.3700
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 920 to 1590
Area of KBA (km2): 793.06636
Protected area coverage (%): 97.85
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This National Park (766 km2) is contiguous with Queen Elizabeth National Park in the south. It occupies undulating terrain on the main Uganda plateau, slightly tilted to the south, and is drained by the Mpanga and Dura rivers flowing in a southerly direction and emptying into Lake George. It ranges in altitude from 900-1590 m a.s.l. Well over half of the park (c.45,000 ha) is occupied by various types of forest vegetation that can be broadly classified as medium-altitude moist evergreen forest in the north, and medium-altitude moist semi-deciduous forest at lower altitudes in the south. So far, 229 species of tree and shrub have been recorded. Originally a Forest Reserve, the area was subjected to varying intensities of logging and a number of compartments are at various stages of regeneration. The remainder of the park is occupied by grassland and swamp communities, some of which were planted with non-native trees of Pinus and Cupressus; these are currently being removed. In other parts, the grassland is being colonized by natural forest. The Lake George Ramsar Site cuts across the extreme south-western corner of the park, south of Rwimi river. The Makerere University Biological Field Station is based at Kanyawara, towards the north of the park; it has a substation at Ngogo. There is an ecotourism site near the park headquarters at Kanyancu.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a global KBA for its chimpanzee population (Pan troglodytes) in the forest.
Additional biodiversity: This is the site of a long term research station with two study sites (Kanyawara and Ngogo) established in the late 1960s and well known in the primate literature for the chimpanzee and other primate studies made here.
Manageability of the site: The site is managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority as a national park. It receives tourists who come to view its primates in particular.
Supersedes another site: Boundary also revised to use shapefile used by Uganda Government - you will see it follows the forest boundary on satellite imagery more accurately
Delineation rationale: The boundary of the site follows the legally gazetted boundary of the national park as recognised by the Uganda Government
Habitats
Land use: Managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority for conservation.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 83 | |
| Unknown | 1 | |
| Savanna | 7 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 6 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Ongoing | |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target) | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Unspecified species | Ongoing |