developed to power sawmills, and other changes. As of 1984 only the steepest slopes had natural forest and there were plans to clear-cut most of the Kinyeti basin. In 1984 only the Acholi mountains sub-range in the west, and the inaccessible area south east of Mount Kinyeti, were still relatively unaffected. The Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) caused further ecological disruption and decline of habitats. Erosion Erosion was very visible on farms established on steep hillsides by people who had moved into the mountains after the 1940s. Fingermillet was the last crop, grown on what soil remained among the rocks and giving a scanty yield. Erosion could have been greatly reduced by constructing agricultural terraces, but needed construction efforts were not done. The Imatong softwoods forestry project let farm laborers plant crops between young trees for two years, reducing erosion and improving crop yields while also producing wood, but only in the first years. Farming continued causing erosion, and in 1984 was evident by muddiness of the Kinyeti River in the rainy season downstream from a potato project. A tea project was launched at Upper Talinga in 1975, opening a route for people to move into the mountains through the Ateppi valley. The result was an increase in hunting, hillside farming, and erosion. Conservation A project was launched in 2009 where the Wildlife Conservation Society worked with the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to evaluate the impact of humans on the mountain ecology and to develop a plan for land use that balances the needs of communities, commercial plantations and conservation of biodiversity. The project makes extensive use of satellite imagery, combined with field observations to map changes to forest coverage. This has confirmed continued forest clearance. A proposal has been made to convert part of the Imatong Central Forest Reserve, which lies within the range, into a National Park, designating the remainder as a buffer zone. Imatong Central Forest Reserve The Imatong Forest Reserve was established in 1952, and covers an area of 1100 km2. It adjoins Uganda's Agoro–Agu Forest Reserve to the south. References Sources East African montane forests Mountain ranges of South Sudan Mountain ranges of Uganda Geography of Eastern Equatoria Protected areas of South Sudan Important Bird Areas of South Sudan