The assessment was based on existing document review, including the Project ESIA and earlier baseline studies, interpretation of global and regional datasets (e.g. the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species), and consultation with renowned primatologists and primary data collection. The KFDA Critical Habitat Area of Analysis (CHAA) identified Bugoma Forest as a Critical Habitant with the project likely to directly and/or indirectly affect this area. Bugoma forest reserve is a refuge to a number of wildlife species in the area including the endangered eastern chimpanzee.

One of the globally listed Endangered species in the Bugoma Forest are the Eastern Chimpanzees. These are great Apes, therefore, under the quantitative and qualitative triggers for Criterion 1 critical habitat they trigger Criterion 1 Tier 1. However, during the ESIS, the precise number of individuals occurring within the CHAA was noted to be unknown with CHAA estimated to support approximately 38% of this species known regional.

It’s against this background, that CNOOC Uganda Limited (CNOOC) commissioned the survey in a bid to assess Chimpanzee population density and current/future threats facing Chimpanzees in the Forest Reserve and the surrounding Forest fragments.

The main purpose was to update the status of critical habitats and critical habitat species study, looking at populations, vulnerability, and to evaluate the current ecosystem composition and function.