The Batwa people of Mgahinga National Park in Uganda have spent generations inhabiting the dense bamboo forests and volcanic slopes where mountain gorillas now flourish. When the park was established in 1992 to protect the endangered species, it also displaced the Batwa—indigenous forest dwellers whose ancestors had lived in the area for centuries. Today, their forced removal has left them among the most disadvantaged indigenous peoples in Africa, as they fight to maintain their traditions while being cut off from the land they once called home.
Photographer James Appleton’s visual project exposes this conflict. His images contrast the park’s celebrated conservation achievements with the human toll behind them. One photograph shows Batwa guides leading tourists along the official Batwa Trail in the park while the boot-shod party labours behind. Another captures a boundary wall now dividing their former farmland from the volcanoes they once farmed. The series also portrays individuals like Echuya, a guide whose deep understanding of the forest’s plant life remains unused due to the park’s restrictions.
Mgahinga’s establishment aimed to preserve gorillas and their habitat, but the displacement of the Batwa revealed a core dilemma in conservation. The park’s boundaries, marked by walls and designated trails, create divisions that did not exist before. For a people whose identity is tied to the forest, this exclusion goes beyond policy; it amounts to cultural erasure.
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The surrounding environment holds deeper historical layers. Lake Bunyonyi, which sits at 1962m above sea level, is one of Africa’s deepest lakes. Other ethnic groups, including the Abakiga, share the region, yet the Batwa’s exclusion endures, a stark reminder that protection rarely serves everyone equally. Appleton’s work goes beyond documentation; it challenges who truly gains from conservation and who bears its consequences.
The images also reveal a troubling paradox: the Batwa’s expertise is valued, yet their access remains limited. There are, as yet, still no official Batwa guides within the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, despite it being their ancestral land.