Stingless bees are little-known organisms but important plant pollinators in Bwindi Forest. They risk disappearance, as with other pollinators and seed dispersers, as a result of pesticide and herbicide poisoning, habitat alteration, invasion by alien species (plant and animal) and insularization of habitats. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park forest has five species of stingless bees in two genera (Meliponula and Hypotrigona). The conservation of pollinators in Bwindi needs to be urgently addressed, and among the required measures are studies on plant–pollinator relationships. The study also demonstrated the accuracy of Abayanda indigenous systematic knowledge.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in south-west Uganda supports a population of gorillas that has become the primary gorilla population for tourism following the genocide in Rwanda. Previous estimates made in the early 1990s indicated that the population numbered around 300 individuals. The census reported here was the first in Bwindi to use the method successfully developed in the Virungas, which utilizes a complete sweep across the park within a short period of time by a large number of teams working simultaneously. We estimated the population to be 292 individuals; to the best of our understanding – based on previous estimates – the population, therefore, appears to be stable. Most gorillas were found within the centre of the southern section of the park. It appears that there are some areas of unused habitat and, therefore, room for the population to grow. We found no clear relationship between gorilla distribution and human presence, but some forms of disturbance were more frequent and close to the edge of the park and may contribute to the gorillas' avoidance of these areas. The effects of human disturbance, including tourism, on the gorillas and other wildlife should be investigated in more detail and monitored over time. This is particularly important in multiple-use zones which have been established around the edges of the park for bee-keeping, collection of nontimber forest products, and tourism.