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195219591961ownership rights and allows them only limited access to their land. The Act prescribesconditions of residence in parks; it empowers the Minister to declare any land a nationalpark and to prohibit unauthorised accessprior to 1 July 1959. However, as the law does not recognise the Batwa’s type of land use thisdoes not reinstate their customary ownership rights1962196819691971197519791986Uganda’s independencethe best interest of the peoplePresident Idi Amin’s ruleNational Resistance Movement comes to powerLand Reform Decree fails to change the situationLands Act of 1969)1991Bwindi conservation area is elevated toin eviction of the Batwa largely withoutcompensation. Brings an end to Batwalifestyle of forest hunting and gatheringMgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable ForestConservation Trust is established (becomingfunctional in 1995)1995it vests land in the citizens of Uganda199820002005Land Act recognises leasehold, mailo and freehold as tenure systems, and offers protection tothe Batwa against eviction, but this latter dimension of the law has never been implementedUganda Wildlife Act recognises that people with property rights may carry out activities for thesustainable management and utilisation of wildlife, if the activities do not adversely affect wildlifeHigh Court recognises the Benet Community’s land rights