Mount Elgon National Park (7068)
Uganda, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1e, B1
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Mount Elgon National Park
Central coordinates: Latitude: 1.2100, Longitude: 34.5400
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1460 to 4320
Area of KBA (km2): 1121.13023
Protected area coverage (%): 96.38
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Mount Elgon extends along Uganda’s international border with Kenya, which effectively divides the mountain into two roughly equal parts. The mountain itself extends for about 80 km north–south and 50 km east–west. It is a solitary extinct volcano, with one of the largest craters in the world—8 km across—and it is the fourth-highest mountain in Africa. There are hot springs on the caldera floor.Mount Elgon National Park covers 1145 km2 and is located on the slopes of the mountain, contiguous with Mount Elgon National Park in Kenya. It ranges in altitude from 1460-4320 m a.s.l. Four broad classes of vegetation occupy different altitudinal zones of the mountain. The lowest is a community of mixed montane forest below c.2,500 m; a broad belt of bamboo and low-canopy montane forest occurs between c.2,400 and 3,000 m; a zone of high montane forest between 3,000 and 3,500 m; and there is a high moorland community above 3,500 m. In addition, there are a number of extensive grassland areas within the mixed montane forest and bamboo areas in the northern sector. Most of the mountain slopes were originally heavily forested, but land-use practices and the growing human population have had an impact on the area and most of the forest on the lower slopes has been lost to agriculture and settlement. The remaining forest is continuous, with an area of c.790 km² in the National Park in Uganda. With numerous streams, Mount Elgon represents an important water catchment area, serving around one million people to the north and west and providing water for the people of Mbale, Tororo and Kapchorwa Districts.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a global KBA for Barbour’s Vlei Rat (Otomys barbouri) and the giant Senecio, Dendrosenecio elgonensis, both of which are endemic to the Elgon mountain.
Manageability of the site: The site is managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority as a national park. It receives tourists who come to climb the mountain.
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. In the north encroachment led to a change in the boundary and given the trigger elements don’t use this area it makess sense to use the official boundary
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 | 45 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 49 | |
| Unknown | 3 | |
| Shrubland | 1 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target) | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Geological events | Avalanches/landslides | Ongoing |