Dr. Hafashimana holds a BSc. (Forestry) of Makerere University – 1987; an MSc (with Distinction) in Plant Biodiversity and Taxonomy (Edinburgh University) – 1994 and PhD Makerere University (majoring in Forest Plant Biodiversity/ Ecology) – 2004. He also holds several Certificates in Short Courses in various fields including: Certificate in Managing (Agricultural Research) for Impacts (Management for Impacts) – Centre for Development Innovation, Wageningen UR. Wageningen University, The Netherlands (2012015); Certificate in Leadership and Management. Uganda Civil Service College, Jinja, Uganda (2017).
His over 35 years’ experience spans through Natural Resources management, Forest Plantation establishment and Management, Biodiversity management and conservation, Biosafety and Agricultural research and development, working with Rural small scale farmers in Uganda. In the last five years of his career in the Uganda Public Service, he served as Director of Research, with National Agricultural Research and Development Institute (NARO), based at Bulindi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute.
Prior to this, he had served a Senior Research Officer – (Ecologist and Conservationist) at the National Forestry Resources Research Institute of NARO for six years; before which he had served as a Forest Officer, then Senior Forest Officer in the Uganda Forestry Department for 19 years, mainly in the field of Natural Forest Management and Conservation,.
During his service in the Uganda Public Service, he represented Uganda government in the international negotiations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit –sharing; as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
He has successfully executed numerous Consultancy assignments both in Uganda and in the African region, covering various countries like Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Namibia. He has also conducted several assignments for the African Union Commission and ENEP/GEF.
- Some of the Consultancies carried out that are of relevance to this Organization included Assessment of Mount Elgon National Park Original Vegetation Description to inform the UWA- FACE reforestation programme, in species choice for restoration- Dec 1997 – Jan 1998; Environmental Impact Assessment / Environmental Audit of the UWA – FACE Foundation Reforestation programme in the Kibale and Mt Elgon National Parks (June / July 1999); “Causes and Consequences of Deforestation in Kyenjojo and Kabarole Districts, Western Uganda-Feb- March 2001, IUCN Country Office, Kampala; Resource use assessment and Peoples’ Attitudes to Resource Availability in Mount Elgon Ecosystem, Eastern Uganda/ Western Kenya- IUCN Country Office, Uganda, January 2005; Review of Dry-land Products for the Bio-Trade programme of Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB) in Collaboration with UNCTAD and UNDP, July-August 2007; Ecosystem based Adaptation- EBA (to climate change) for the Mount Elgon Ecosystem, Eastern Uganda, UNDP Country office – Uganda, 2012; Vulnerability Impact Assessment (VIA) for the Mount Elgon Ecosystem, UNDP Country Office- Uganda, 2013; Training of trainers and natural resource managers in Uganda on How to cope with possible effects of Pollution resulting from Petroleum and gas when Uganda starts commercial exploitation in Western Uganda, particularly focusing on effects of pollution on Plants and soils by oil and gas, – July 2015-march 2016 –USAID TETRATECH – Oil and Gas activity; Preparation of Guidelines for the Sustainable management and Trade in Prunus africana” (a medicinal tree potentially threatened due to international trade in its bark for medicine manufacture) Sept 2016- December 2016, Uganda Forestry Sector Support Department, Ministry of Water and Environment; Part of the Team of Consultants that carried out Uganda Country Programme Evaluation for the Uganda FAO Country Programme; serving as Evaluation Specialist/ Forestry, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management. Work included Assessment of the strategic relevance of FAO’s interventions in responding to country needs (focusing on the Forestry, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management Interventions); Assessment of FAO’s contributions to results and outcomes in areas identified in the Country Programme Framework (CPF); Identification of lessons learnt as well as enabling and limiting factors for results; and Identification of gaps in FAO’s country programming and potential areas of future work. Year:15th Oct 2018 – Feb 28th 2019; Served as a National Consultant / Evaluation Specialist covering the Uganda sub-component of the Global Project; for the Final Evaluation of the Project entitled “Securing Tenure Rights for Forest Landscape-Dependent Communities: Linking science with policy to advance tenure security, sustainable forest Management and people’s livelihoods”- GCP /GLO/806/GFF-GEFID 5797 – From 03rd -29 March 2019; Served as part of a team of Consultants (Forest Ecologist/ Biodiversity Specialist) for Conducting Baseline Ecological Surveys in Bugoma Forest, Kikuube District . Enviro-Impact and Management Consults, Kampala: carrying out Ecological Surveys, focusing on Vegetation composition and Ecological status in Bugoma Forest. September 2019.
Selected Publications:
- Hafashimana, D. L. N, Gombya-Sembajjwe, W. S and Abigaba, G. (2000). A Review of the Methodology for Assessing Non-Wood Forest Products and their Application in Uganda. In European Commission Directorate, Uganda Forest Department and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the U.N., (2000). Data Collection and Analysis for Sustainable Forest Management in ACP Countries. Linking National and International Efforts.
- Eilu, G., Hafashimana, D. L. N and Kasenene, J. M. (2004). Tree Species Distribution in Forests of the Albertine Rift, western Uganda. African Journal of Ecology. J. Ecol., 42, 100-110.
- Eilu, G. Hafashimana, D. L.N. and Kasenene, J. M. (2004). Density and Species Diversity of Trees in four Tropical Forests of the Albertine Rift, western Uganda. Diversity and Distributions, (2004) 10, 303-312. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Poulsen, D., Hafashimana, D., Eilu, G., Liengola, I.B., Ewango, C.E.N. & Hart, T.B. (2005). Composition and species richness of forest Plants along the Albertine Rift, Africa. Biol. Skr. 55: 129-143 ISSN 036-7304-304-4.
- Samson Gwali, Paul Okullo, David Hafashimana and Denis Mujuni Byabashaija (2009). Diversity and composition of trees and shrubs in Kasagala forest: a semi-arid savannah woodland in central Uganda. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, J. Ecol. 2009.
- Hafashimana D. (2010). Diversity and Distribution of Forest Biodiversity in Western Uganda: The Diversity and distribution of trees and vascular epiphytes in western Uganda Forests, in relation to the Environment. Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany. ISBN: 978-3-8383-9189-2. www.amazon.com
- Samson Gwali, Paul Okullo, David Hafashimana, and Denis Mujuni Byabashaija. (2010). Taxonomic diversity, distinctness, and abundance of tree and shrub species in Kasagala forest reserve in Uganda: implications for management and conservation policy decisions. Mongabay.com Open Access Journal – Tropical Conservation Science3 (3):319-333, 2010.
- Samson Gwali, Hillary Agaba, Paul Balitta, David Hafashimana, Joseph Nkandu, Anne Kuria, Fabrice Pinard and Fergus Sinclair (2015). Tree species diversity and abundance in coffee farms adjacent to areas of different disturbance histories in Mabira forest system, central Uganda. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services and Management, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2015.1050607.
He is widely travelled, having been to 47 countries all over the world in the course of his professional service.