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Sango Bay is located on the south-western shores of
Lake Victoria. It is found in Rakai District, Uganda, on
the border with Kagera Region, Tanzania. It is a low-
lying area, dominated by plains and raised beaches.
There are different types of wetlands in the bay, all rich
in biodiversity. The wetlands are associated with three
major drainage systems: the Lake Victoria Basin system
(Kibale-Bukola Wetlands and Naludugavu Wetlands),
the Kagera River Basin system (Lwemukunya Wetlands),
and Lake Kijanebalola-Kacheera Basin systems (Lake
Kacheera Wetlands, Lake Kijanebalola Wetlands,
Kimanywa Wetlands, Kijonjo Wetlands) (Lake Victoria
Basin Commission 2007).
The Kagera River system is associated with permanent
wetlands dominated by papyrus. It is characterized by
small hills and broad, low-gradient valleys; fluctuating
water levels periodically flood the plains, creating
seasonal wetlands, which are used mainly for grazing.
Lake Kijjanebalola and Kacheera are formed in two
deep depressions and the edges of these two lakes
and the surrounding valleys are covered by permanent
swamps. These lakes eventually drain into Lake Victoria
through the Kibaale/Bukola River/Wetlands system.
The plant ecosystems in the seasonal wetlands are made
up of both of monoculture and mosaic stands. The
monoculture stands are forming woodlands made up
mainly of acacia species. The mosaic stands are comprised
primarily of a mixture of grasses, albizia, acacia, euphorbia
and Carisa edulis. Similarly, permanent wetlands have
both monoculture and mosaic stands. The monoculture
stands – papyrus, miscanthus, typha or vossia – merge
into each other, forming mosaic plant communities.
Sango Bay is home to a range of animals such as
antelopes, wild pigs, rabbits and birds (guinea fowls,
partridges, crested cranes, ibis, herons and egrets).
Common fish species include lungfish, catfish, mudfish
and tilapia, and these are found in the seasonal
wetlands. The permanent wetlands provide a habitat
for animals such as sitatungas and water bucks, as well
as birds such as ibis, crested cranes, herons, kingfishers
and hammerkops. There is commercial fishing of tilapia,
catfish, lungfish, haplochromis and Nile perch in Sango
Bay (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007).
Over 75 per cent of the soils in the bay are ferralitic –
representing the final stages of weathering – with little or
nomineral reserve remaining. Some heavy clay varieties
have some fertility but sandy varieties are particularly poor.
Common soil types include lithosols, alluvial and lacustrine
sands and alluvial clays. Lithosols and humus loams are
dominant in the uplands, while grey sandy soils derived
from hill wash or river alluvium, grey clays of the valley
bottoms and lacustrine sands dominate the lowlands and
wetlands (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007).
The Sango Bay Wetlands are mainly used for crop
cultivation, grazing and fishing. They also provide a
variety of goods and services such as mulch grass,
thatch grass, craft materials, poles, firewood, timber,
charcoal and water for both livestock and human use.
The Sango Bay Wetlands supply water to the Rakai
District’s four urban councils: Rakai, Kyotera, Kalisizo
and Lyantonde. The water supply for each town is
drawn from Kijanebalola and Kasesa; Katango and
Naludugavu; Bulimbale, Kacheera and Kikasa; and
Bwasa, respectively. None of these urban areas has a
waste treatment plant, so effluent enters directly into
the Wetlands (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007).
Burning, drainage for settlement encroachment or
conversion, overgrazing and urbanization are major
threats to the Sango Bay Wetland system.
Sango Bay, Uganda
Kingfisher