In the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park, an unlikely alliance is taking shape. Charcoal burners and conservationists—usually worlds apart—are now fighting on the same side in a desperate battle against a fast-spreading invasive weed threatening Uganda’s iconic wildlife haven, writes Gerald Tenywa.
From a distance, Dennis Omondi of Katunguru in Kasese watches the strange partnership unfold with disbelief. On one side are men cutting trees to survive. On the other side are conservationists struggling to save one of Uganda’s most treasured ecosystems.
At the same time, both are united by a common enemy: the thorny invasive sickle bush that is choking grazing grounds and slowly tightening its grip on the park.
What began as an environmental crisis has turned into an unusual survival strategy. Wildlife managers have opened sections of the park to charcoal burners, allowing them to harvest and burn the invasive vegetation into charcoal, hence clearing land for wildlife while creating jobs for struggling communities.
“Charcoal burning is good for Queen Elizabeth National Park, as long as it helps remove invasive species,” Omondi told Wild News Channel. “This can allow biological diversity to return while also creating employment opportunities for local people,” he said.
For years, conservationists searched for ways to tame the stubborn weed. But for the woody, aggressive sickle bush, they found an unexpected solution: turn the invader into fuel.
“So far, this has proved effective,” Omondi said, noting that nearly 30 percent of the weed has already been cleared, especially along the Kasese–Mbarara Highway.
The impact stretches beyond conservation.
In Katunguru fishing village in Rubirizi District, charcoal burning is becoming a lifeline for vulnerable families. According to Faith Atuhirwe, who leads a group of charcoal burners, the earnings are helping orphaned children return to school and giving struggling households a shot at dignity.
Some of the beneficiaries are children whose fathers died in poaching-related incidents inside the park, which is a painful reminder of the poverty that often fuels human-wildlife conflict.
What is a sickle bush?
Known locally as Akalemanjojo, the invasive sickle bush, scientifically called Dichrostachys cinerea, had spread across nearly half of Queen Elizabeth National Park by the end of 2025.
The thorny shrub can grow as high as seven meters, towering above most humans, and thrives even in harsh drought conditions. Though known for medicinal properties, conservationists say its rapid spread is suffocating grasslands needed by wildlife.
Its hanging yellow and pink-purple flowers may appear harmless, but beneath the beauty lies a silent ecological invasion threatening one of Africa’s most celebrated parks.
Now, in a twist few could have imagined, the crackling flames of charcoal kilns may be helping save the wild.
The sickle bush has quietly reshaped the land wherever it has taken root, altering the vegetation of the landscape. True to its name, it spreads in dense, cutting stands that wildlife cannot easily pass, its thorns forming a living barrier that drives animals away from once-open grazing grounds.
This intrusion has led to the displacement of grazers such as antelopes, while the carnivores—especially the cats—have followed in their wake, driven to seek refuge elsewhere.
“We have seen wild animals, including lions, moving closer to the park boundaries, where they trigger human-wildlife conflict,” said Richard Kapere, senior planning, EIA and climate change officer for the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
EIA is the Environmental Impact Assessment. This acts as a decision-making tool to ensure that potential environmental risks and negative consequences are taken into account, aiming to prevent or minimise harm.
The sickle bush does not allow other plant species to grow beneath it. It is not edible, and animals tend to avoid areas where it grows. As a result, wildlife is displaced from its natural habitat. When animals move into nearby communities in search of food and space, it can lead to increased human-wildlife conflict.
“In areas where the sickle bush has been cleared, wildlife is beginning to return, reclaiming of ground once lost beneath the invasive thickets,” said Kapere.
In mid-2026, the sick bush or weed is being pushed back and covers about 30% of Queen Elizabeth National Park, according to Kapere. “We did a study, and weeds, including sickle bush, are covering between 30% and 40% of the park,” said Kapere, adding that Queen Elizabeth is the most affected park.
Invasive species defined
An invasive species is a non-native or alien species introduced into an ecological system, which causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm in its new environment. This is contained in a report by the National Invasive Species Information Center.
In Queen and western Uganda, where the sickle weed has always grown wild, scientists chose a softer description—”an indigenous problematic species,” Kapere explained. “We call them ‘indigenous problematic species,’ but given the way they behave, we call them ‘invasive species,'” said Kapere.
Explosive seed production
Sickle bush is a highly aggressive, prolific weed often found in disturbed areas, pastures, and crops, known for its significant seed bank. Every pod on a plant produces up to 10,000 in twisted pods or sickles, which gives the weed its name, “sickle weed.”
The seeds can remain dormant in the soil for long periods, leading to a persistent seed bank. In addition, the seeds have a high survival rate (can remain dormant for a decade) and are easily dispersed by animals, according to CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International).
In addition to its seed bank, springing back from even the tiniest fragments left behind after failed clearing attempts—a stubborn survivor that refuses to loosen its grip on the land.
Also, the plant is drought-resistant and fire-resistant and thrives in poor, disturbed soils. It quickly dominates overgrazed pastures, leading to severe bush encroachment.
The plant withstands drought, survives fire, and thrives in poor, disturbed soils. Across overgrazed pastures, it spreads relentlessly, engulfing open land in waves of thorny bushes.
“It is difficult to control,” Kapere said as he described the painstaking measures of fighting the weed. “We go after it before it flowers,” he said. “Three clearings after it sprouts—and by the third, the plant loses its grip on the land.”
This is part of what she described as the mechanical removal of the weed, and the wood is given to charcoal burners to produce charcoal.
This is part of what she described as mechanical removal of the weed, with the cleared wood handed over to a chain dealing in charcoal production.
Climate change stirs Queen Elizabeth
The changing climate impacts in Uganda comes with extreme weather conditions such as intense and frequent floods and droughts in different parts of the country.
Kapere attributes the rise of rebellious weeds in Queen Elizabeth to climate change. Sickle weed is resistant to drought; the plant endures where others fade, as harsher conditions thin out the more palatable species in nature’s relentless rule of survival of the fittest, reshaping the movement of wildlife across the park, according to Kapere.
Other weeds threatening Queen Elizabeth
Apart from the sickle bush, UWA’s deputy director of field operations, Charles Tumwesigye, says Queen Elizabeth Park has been invaded by different weeds.
Tumwesigye cited spear grass at Kasenyi, cactus and Opuntia at Mweya and Lantana camara around Lake Katwe and other parts of the park as some examples.
Congress weed, which invaded Uganda about a decade ago from Kenya and Tanzania, has also hit home and is spreading very fast in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
There are different interventions for the weeds. As for sickle weed, mechanical removal and conversion into charcoal has proved to be the game changer.
