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Site description (2001 baseline):

This site, the Nakuwa area, is in the south-eastern part of the Kyoga system, which is an important natural water reservoir for the Nile. It includes Lakes Nawampasa, Budipa, Nkodokodo and Murlu, as well as swamps in the east, and the northern swamps of Lakes Nakuwa and Kyebiseke. The swamps are predominantly dense papyrus Cyperus papyrus, broken in parts by pools of water forming sudds (clumps of floating papyrus). Sometimes these sudds open up completely, forming small lakes. Some lakes, like Nawampasa, are very shallow and covered by water-lilies Nymphaea, with short sedges (dominated by Cyperus) occupying the drier parts of the fringing papyrus swamp. These shallow areas are important for both waterbirds and surrounding fishing communities

See Box and Table 3 for key species. There has been little fieldwork done in and around Lake Kyoga, although during two visits by NatureUganda staff, some apparently important places for the conservation of birds were noted. There is no list of birds in the Kyoga system, but records have been made in different parts of the swamp. These include Lake Nawampasa, part of Lake Nakuwa and Kyebiseke around Irundu. The swamps are mainly important for three species of global conservation concern, and for species of the Lake Victoria Basin biome

Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals include otters and Tragelaphus spekii (LR/nt). Some of the small lakes in the Kyoga area support rare species of fish, including some that were exterminated in Lakes Victoria and Kyoga by the introduced and predatory Lates niloticus.

The area is remote and poorly known, and therefore needs further investigation. The use of firearms to hunt Balaeniceps rex needs to be discouraged through a public-awareness campaign which, in addition to stressing the global significance of the species, should address some of the negative cultural beliefs, such as the bird being a bad omen for fishermen

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Nakuwa (Uganda). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-nakuwa-iba-uganda on 22/11/2024.