Lake Nabugabo is a shallow freshwater lake about 8.2 km long by 5 km wide; three much smaller satellite lakes (Kayanja, Manywa and Kayugi) are located in the same basin 4-6 km to the NW. Nabugabo is separated from Lake Victoria by a sand bar 1.2 to 3 km wide. Maximum lake depth is about 5 metres. The lake is mostly surrounded by very extensive Loudetia swamp, especially to the north and south. Miscanthidium, Vossia and Sphagnum bog are also present. Papyrus although present is not dominant in any area. There is a forest along the north-western shore and sandy beaches along the windward, eastern shoreline.

The water is extremely dilute about 20% of the Lake Victoria salinity. Tourism development along the western shore; burning of the wetland vegetation and that along the sandbar and over-fishing all threaten the long-term security of the Nabugabo ecosystem.

Nabugabo is an important migratory stop-over/destination for migratory bird species both to the south and palearctics.  According to bird counts in the area, at one time of the year, it holds more than 15% of the world’s population of the Blue Swallow.  The area regularly holds more than an average of about 400,000 White Winged Terns, which is over 20% of the world population.  Nabugabo also contains 5 globally threatened bird species: Blue Swallow (Vulnerable); Shoe Bill (Near Threatened); Great Snipe (Near Threatened); Pallied Harrier (Near Threatened) and the Papyrus Gonolek (Near Threatened).

Lake Nabugabo wetland system supports an unusually high diversity of plant species, including insectivores of the family Droseraceae. Thirty-four families and over 92 species have been recorded. This diversity is probably due to the wide variety of habitats in the area. A zone dominated by Sphagnum moss exists in the east and south-eastern area of Nabugabo.

The wetland around Lake Nabugabo (Lwamunda Swamp) is dominated by Miscanthus and Loudetia spp.  Along the western side of the sandbar to the northeast there is a natural swamp forest. Further swamp forest exists on the sandbar adjacent to Lake Victoria. The water in the lake is slightly alkaline and has extremely low dissolved solids giving a conductivity of less than 40 µS/cm. The swamp water is more acidic.

Lake Kayanja is surrounded by a dense Miscanthidium swamp; there are patches of swamp forest dominated mainly by Alchornea cordifolia and Beilschmiedia ugandensis on raised ground fringing the swamp.

Lake Kayugi is surrounded by a pure Papyrus swamp associated with Ficus congensis. It is a free-floating swamp. The open water is devoid of Nymphaea sp., Nymphoides nilotica or Ceratophyllum demersum.

The wetland supports an unusually high diversity of plant species, including insectivores of the family Droseraceae. Thirty-four families and over 92 species have been recorded. This diversity is probably due to the wide variety of habitats in the area. A zone dominated by Sphagnum moss was reported in the mid-1960’s in the east and south-eastern area of Nabugabo, its current status is not known.

Nine species of Cichlidae are known to have existed in these lakes, including five endemic species of Haplochromids:  Oreochromis esculentus, Ctenopome murei and Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae, Rastuenoebalus argentea, Protopterus aethiopinus, Clarias gariepinus, Synodontis victorinus

Nabugabo is an important migratory stop-over/destination for migratory bird species both to the south and palearctics.  According to bird counts in the area, at one time of the year, it holds more than 15% of the world’s population of the Blue Swallow.  The area regularly holds more than an average of about 400,000 White Winged Terns, which is over 20% of the world population.  Nabugabo also contains 5 globally threatened bird species: Blue Swallow (Vulnerable); Shoe Bill (Near Threatened); Great Snipe (Near Threatened); Pallied Harrier (Near Threatened) and the Papyrus Gonolek (Near Threatened). It is for this reason that Lake Nabugabo system has been designated as one of the 30 Important Bird Areas in Uganda.

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