Mgahinga National Park in Uganda safeguards one of the last strongholds for the critically endangered mountain gorilla, yet its establishment in 1992 forced the indigenous Batwa people from the forests where they had lived for centuries. Photographer James Appleton’s work exposes their unresolved plight—forced displacement, economic hardship, and the struggle to reclaim cultural identity after being barred from the park they once considered home.
The park’s thick bamboo forests and towering volcanic peaks attract tourists eager for gorilla encounters, but the Batwa, who once served as the forest’s guardians, are now confined to its outskirts. A boundary wall was constructed to define the park’s limits, severing their traditional access routes. Echuya, a Batwa guide, retains deep expertise in local flora despite being excluded from leading tours inside Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, their ancestral homeland.
Appleton’s photographs reveal the stark divide between the Batwa’s history and their current reality. A lava tube that once served as a refuge for their king now stands abandoned, while the Batwa Trail Experience in Mgahinga, designed to incorporate their guides, has recorded just two bookings over the past year. Though the trail remains one of the few official paths through the park and is led by Batwa guides, their participation is severely restricted.
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Tourism in the region continues to expand, with expeditions like the upcoming Southwest Uganda tour set for January 2027. Meanwhile, the Batwa observe from the margins, their exclusion highlighting a persistent conflict: wildlife conservation frequently takes precedence over the needs of communities that have coexisted with these ecosystems for generations.
The Batwa’s struggle extends beyond land rights to a fight for acknowledgment. Their generations-old knowledge of the forest is now reduced to a tourist attraction rather than an essential resource. While the park’s efforts have succeeded in protecting gorillas, they have simultaneously erased the Batwa’s traditional way of life, leaving the community to justify their existence in a system that once relied on them.
Appleton’s images go beyond environments; they record a people still seeking relevance in a terrain they once shaped. The Batwa Trail persists, but so does the barrier that keeps them outside its boundaries.