Buvuma Island

Buvuma Island (sometimes 'Uvuma', locally ) is the largest island in the Buvuma Islands chain, in Lake Victoria in Africa.

The chain of islands known as Buvuma Islands consists of more than fifty islands and is located a few kilometres off the northern shores of Lake Victoria, Uganda in the Napoleon Gulf. Buvuma is approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi), by water, south of the major city of Jinja, and around 90 kilometres (56 mi), south-east of the national capital, Kampala. It is part of the wider Buganda region, and was administered as part of Mukono but was recently made into a district of its own by the government of Uganda.

The main island is Buvuma, with a land area of around 200 square-miles (517 km²), and a population of around 20,000. It is forested, and is a destination for intrepid bird-watching tourists. The forest is being cut and burned to provide three boats a day full of charcoal for the nearby city of Jinja. There are twenty-six gazetted Forest Reserves in Buvuma.

There is a somewhat unreliable ferry to the mainland. There are also unofficial small boat services from Kiyindi, a major fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria. Boat taxis provide transportation daily from the islands to Masese, a landing site near Jinja. There are two health centres, but no electricity on the island. Sleeping sickness and tsetse flies are major concerns. Because of the communities' heavy reliance on the lake water, which is infested with parasites, inhabitants are susceptible to Bilharzia.

The area is very poor compared to other parts of Uganda because funds allocated to it are often diverted before they reach the island.

The waters around the islands are rich in fish, and the local Bavuma and Basoga are fishermen.

In 2012, Bidco Palm Oil Limited, a regional edible oil manufacturer, unveiled plans to establish a 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) palm oil plantation and processing factory, beginning in 2013. With another 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres), in a planned outgrowers' scheme, the entire Bidco Palm Oil Project on Buvuma Island is expected to grow to 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres), when completed.

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Wikipedia