MOUNT ELGON ENCROACHMENT
Mountain Elgon is a volcanic mountain on the border of eastern Uganda and western Kenya .Its 3070m above surface level and about 80 km in diameter. It is 140 km North East of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of 1279 km² and is bisected by the border of Kenya and Uganda. The Ugandan part of the park covers 1110 km² while the Kenyan part covers 169 km² The Kenyan part of the park was gazated in 1968 the Ugandan part in1992
A geological study has been carried out by the Uganda wildlife authority (UWA)
And found out that people around mt Elgon have gone beyond the agreed 1993 boundary .It is said that about 3200 hectares have been encroached on and attractions like Duikers, Buffalos, Leopards, and birds have escaped to the Kenyan side of the mountain because their habitat has been invaded by people while doing human activities like farming, bush burning, hunting, among others which has led to clearance of tourist attractions like some medicinal trees as old as 300years have been destroyed by humans This is a great threat to the Tourism sector ..
Secondly mt. Elgon as a water catchment area is facing a problem of depletion at a much higher rate due to massive encroachment.The soils are very loose with a lot of cracks and it is anticipated that anytime there can be another landslide so encroachers should leave the area.
In conclusion, the Uganda Wildlife Authority through local leaders has been negotiating with encroachers about the possible relocation to areas outside the park and possibly to other areas outside the district
This is aimed at reducing more encroachment on the Mountain area .
Estherr
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