A brief history of the Early and Middle Miocene fossil sites at Bukwa, Uganda : discovery, research, protection. - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Geo-Pal Uganda Année : 2017

A brief history of the Early and Middle Miocene fossil sites at Bukwa, Uganda : discovery, research, protection.

Rose Mwanja
  • Fonction : Auteur
Ezra Musiime
  • Fonction : Auteur
Sarah Musalizi
  • Fonction : Auteur
Loïc Ségalen

Résumé

The Bukwa fossil sites of Early and Middle Miocene age, were discovered in 1965, just three years after Uganda’s Independence from Colonial Rule, and since then they have been studied sporadically by geologists and palaeontologists. From 1970 until 1985 security concerns in the country hampered progress. The Bukwa sites comprise an important part of Uganda’s cultural and scientific heritage, and they warrant proper protection. Despite being protected by the 1967 Monuments Act of Uganda, the sites have suffered encroachment, notably from agricultural activity. In the late 1990’s and the first decade of this century, liaison between the Uganda Museum, the Uganda Palaeontology Expedition (UPE) and Local Council officials of Bukwo District, resulted in a rise in awareness of the scientific importance of the sites, not only among government officials and civil servants, but also among local farmers. After 2002, when a team from America briefly visited the sites, there was a long period during which nothing happened, a state of affairs which was interpreted by local inhabitants to mean that the sites had been abandoned by the scientifiv community, which gave the false impression that the sites were of little scientific value. In 2012, in order to rectify this misinformation, after three years of central and local government interaction, a panel was erected at the site by the Uganda Museum, pointing out that the site is protected by law. Local leaders and citizens of Bukwa are proud of the fact that an important scientific site exists in their area, one deposit of which represents a geological period not represented elsewhere in Uganda, and there are plans to gazette the sites and to create an Interpretation Centre for educational, scientific and tourism purposes. There remains, however, the possibility of further encroachment because, in the district, there is pressure on the land from the agricultural fraternity. The aim of this paper is to provide a succinct history of scientific activity and competing land use interests at the Bukwa fossil sites, and to discuss issues of protection and local development so that the fossil-bearing deposits can be preserved in order that future generations of Ugandan and international scientists can study the geology and palaeontology of the deposits, which are of world-class interest. Much remains to be investigated at the Bukwa fossil sites and several enigmas await elucidation, including the stratigraphy and ages of the localities.
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Dates et versions

hal-03976675 , version 1 (07-02-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-03976675 , version 1

Citer

Rose Mwanja, Ezra Musiime, Sarah Musalizi, Brigitte Senut, Dominique Gommery, et al.. A brief history of the Early and Middle Miocene fossil sites at Bukwa, Uganda : discovery, research, protection.. Geo-Pal Uganda, 2017, 11, pp.1-11. ⟨hal-03976675⟩
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