BY MACHARIA WANGUI
Far North in Uganda in Adjumani district, is a 1,259-hectare only tropical rain forest in the region named Zoka.
Zoka forest is, according to residents and conservatists, a vital ecosystem that provides sustenance, spiritual significance and sense of identity to the locals. It is also home to the endangered Afzelia Africana tree species.Â
In recent years, the forest has faced numerous threats, among them encroachment for cultivation, deforestation by illegal loggers and charcoal burners. So bad was the lumbering by senior government and military officers in Uganda that Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in 2016 launched an independent probe into claims officers in senior ranks were involved.
According to a New Vision report, quoting local leadership, armed soldiers were involved in illegal lumbering, going to the extent of using military trucks to transport timber.
In August 2024, Uganda Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa asked Parliament Committee on Natural Resources to probe widespread illegal logging in Zoka Central Forest following a documentary exposing the destruction in the ecosystem
Tayebwa warned Zoka Central Forest reserve could be no more if nothing was done to stop illicit charcoal trade.
This was despite President Yoweri Museveni last year banning charcoal burning and trade in West Nile and Acholi regions.
It is against this backdrop of threats facing the forest that friends came together in a WhatsApp group in an effort to save the forest. The group metamorphized into a registered non-profit making- conservation group known as Friends of Zoka.
Since the formation of Friends of Zoka, significant steps have been made through the use of social, local and international media in highlighting the destruction and calling out government officials who have been hampering efforts to protect and save the forest.
Friends of Zoka conservation efforts have also exposed how illegal activities and corruption interconnect to feed the illegal global lumber trade.
William Amanzuru, the team leader of Friends of Zoka, spearheaded one of the most unique protests, leading a group of people in walking from Kampala to Adjumani, a distance of 462 kilometers. It is a walk that attracted international attention to the forest.
The aim of the walk was also to sensitize and urge Ugandans to join efforts in reforesting the forest.
CHALLENGES
The efforts of Friends of Zoka and other like-minded people to save the forest, are, however, facing hurdles largely due to the militarization of the country, as some senior military officers are accused of engaging in the trade, and enjoy protection from the senior government officials.
Some quarters in the government who are deep rooted, and the major beneficiary of logging and charcoal trading are taking the advantage of the militarization to intimidate anyone who voices out their concerns on the state of extinction of the pride of Adjumani.
Other challenges facing the conservation efforts include weak environmental laws which, according to conservation activists, are the loopholes being utilized by the forest destroyers.
Limited or no political goodwill is also worsening problem as the local leadership isn’t willing to join hands with conservationists as some powerful political figures at the national level are believed to be the masterminds behind the destruction. Some local leaders also argue — not smartly so — that blocking charcoal burning and logging will adversely affect local government revenue flow.
According to Friends of Zoka, President Museveni’s directive to stop the illegal commercial charcoal trade in the North has “openly been abused by the various security leaders and those most powerful and well connected in the NRM [National Resistance Movement] government”.
However, with the acknowledgement that climate change is mainly affecting the indigenous and minority communities, the locals here have taken upon themselves to team up with Friends of Zoka to conserve the forest and the environment.
The community takes photo and shares them online, an intervention that has somewhat acted as a deterrence to the loggers. Amidst threats and intimidation, the locals also erect roadblocks blocking truck ferrying timber and charcoal, and even effect arrests.
Funding has, however, been a challenge for Friend of Zoka in their advocacy but the entry of America Jewish World Service (AJWS) brought some relief to the organization. AJWS’s funding is helping pay bills, allowances and enabling mobility and conservation efforts.
RECOGNITION
Friends of Zoka efforts to speak out on behalf of mother nature has attracted local and global recognition. Uganda President Museveni through an Executive Order banned illegal logging and also for the vacation of individuals cultivating in the forest reserve. No notable implementation has happened, although there are visible roadblocks manned by UPDF to deal with the lumbering.
Internationally, the European Union acknowledged Amanzuru and his team for their concerted efforts to conserve Zoka.
Despite threats, intimidation, impersonation of Friend of Zoka online by crooks who solicit fund in their name, trumped up charges and negative propaganda, among others, Friends of Zoka have vowed to ensure protection of the forest by all means.
Amanzuru says the ecosystem is so important to an extent he rather sacrifice his life to save the water catchment area, living true to their tagline, “My Environment, My Life”.
