Najjakulya Forest

This forest is 50 hectares and is located on private land under the mailoland tenure system. The main tree dominants are Antiaris toxicaria, Sapium ellipticum, and Lovoa brownii. Tree density in this forest is about 248 stems per hectare, mean dbh is 19.98cm, and a mean height of 8.85m. A total of 43 different species were encountered in the sampling area. The sapling population seems to be representative of the tree population.

It is situated on land that was previously committed to cotton growing but later abandoned due to unprofitability of the cotton. The forest does not generate income for other community members apart from its owner who sells trees to pitsawyers from other communities. All people reside at a distance greater than 5Km from the forest. Users rank the condition of this forest as poor, the level of enforcement as lax and are concerned that current levels of extraction are unsustainable. The property owner is too old to effectively monitor and manage the forest; as such illegal harvesting is on the increase. An even greater challenge is the fact that the banning of pitsawing in government forests is placing greater pressure on private forest owners to increase harvesting to fill in the deficits.