Mount Moroto Forest Reserve (7069)
Uganda, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Mount Moroto Forest Reserve
Central coordinates: Latitude: 2.5200, Longitude: 34.7800
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 960 to 3800
Area of KBA (km2): 482.53725
Protected area coverage (%): 96.57
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Mount Moroto Forest Reserve (483 km2) is perched on top of the escarpment of the Eastern Rift Valley, east of Moroto town; its eastern boundaries are also those of the Ugandan border with Kenya. The upper parts of Mount Moroto are forested (totalling c.7,000 ha), but the reserve extends a considerable distance into savannas of various types, including Combretum woodlands, as well as bushland and tree/shrub-steppe. It ranges in altitude from 960-3800 m a.s.l.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site is a global KBA for the Karamoja apalis (Apalis karamojae).
Manageability of the site: The site is managed by the National Forest Authority as a Central Forest Reserve.
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 Central Forest Reserve as recognised by the government of Uganda
Habitats
Land use: It is managed as a forest reserve by the National Forest Authority primarily for biodiversity conservation and watershed management.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 3 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 73 | |
| Unknown | 3 | |
| Shrubland | 8 | |
| Grassland | 10 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target) | Ongoing |