White Nile River Basin Exped. – Kidepo Valley NP

Abutting southern Sudan, Kidepo Valley was the “lomej” (the meeting point) where Karimojong, Ik and Dodoth pastoralists gathered for their hunting. Otherwise the scarcity of rain kept them nomadic and well dispersed, since Karamoja gets only 600–800 mm of rain per year, far below what is needed to sustain people and their herds. The rule of thumb is that at least 1,000 mm is needed to sustain people in a land without infrastructure.

White Nile River Basin Exp. – Murchison Falls NP

Aerial documentation along the shores of Lake Albert, en route to Murchison, revealed sites of oil exploration on fan deltas and a hydro-power site at Tonya Falls on the lake’s eastern escarpment.… Neither the details of Uganda’s Oil Production Agreement, means of transporting the oil, nor the selected extraction companies have been announced. This secrecy has led to many rumors in the press. Hopes are that the expected oil income will be put towards food, healthcare, education and energy.

White Nile River Basin Expedition – Bwindi NF

Today I arrive at Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest in the southwest corner of Uganda for a couple days. This World Heritage Site is a dense rainforest still intact from the last ice age. On these Albertine Rift Valley ridges there are many gorges, streams and waterfalls, habitat to 90 mammal species, 100 fern species and 23 endemic forest bird species, including more than half of the world’s remaining population of mountain gorillas.