Wildwaters Reserve

Long-tailed cormorants herd schools of fish into the shallows, wisps of spray rainbow in the sunlight, and fisherman paddle their wooden canoes skillfully amidst the strong currents.  Hundreds of heavily forested islands obstruct the young Nile resulting in a maelstrom of thundering rapids that provide sanctuary to thousands of birds, intriguing fish and a unique collection of flora and fauna.  Wildwaters Reserve has been formed to protect many of the remaining islands and their tropical rainforests for perpetuity.
An exploding human population is putting unprecedented pressure on the islands mid-stream in the Nile and all the wildlife that call these islands home.  A major hydro-electric dam is currently under construction at Bujagali Falls and this will drown dozens of these islands later in 2010.  Furthermore, a poor rural population (with tens of thousands of hungry children) see the remaining islands in the Nile a source of much-needed income.  Milling hardwood trees for charcoal provides a one-off bonanza for adventurous villagers who have little in the way of alternative sources of income.   Adjacent forests on the mainland have been cut and felled illegally and the islands have become increasingly attractive for local communities who can access some of them easily by boat.
The Wildwaters Reserve project involves replanting indigenous tree species on islands that have been deforested and ensuring that the local communities receive more lucrative, longer-term benefits from protecting these islands than they do from destroying them.
At the heart of the Wildwaters Reserve, is Wildwaters Lodge which is a environmentally friendly lodge currently being constructed on Muyanja Island in the heart of the new reserve.   Locally available materials have been used in the construction of the lodge and it is nestled strikingly amidst the trees of the lush forest.  Raised wooden walkways link the rooms, wash basins have been carved from granite sourced on the island and a locally-made water wheel, driven by the Nile, will power the lodge.  Guests staying here can sleep comfortably in the knowledge they are helping to provide over thirty long-term jobs in an area where there were none, and that their visits have created an increasing demand for locally grown organic produce.
The World Bank has recognised the importance of protecting these islands by entering into an Indemnity agreement with the Government of Uganda to protect some of these islands for perpetuity for tourism, cultural and scenic values as part of the mitigation for the Bujagali Dam.  Bujagali Energy Ltd. (the dam  constructors) are supporting re-forestation of islands within the Wildwaters Reserve, building cultural centres for the local communities and resource libraries for the communities on each bank of the river adjacent to Wildwaters Lodge.
However, long-term the challenge remains to support Wildwaters Reserve financially by ensuring that all of the communities adjacent to this section of the Nile benefit directly.