Frontier Tanzania Environmental Research REPORT 110 ...

Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserve
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FOREWORD
Coastal Forest is thought to have once covered the whole of the eastern seaboard of Africa.
Today only some 250 patches of forest are left, covering just 3200 km 2 . Coastal Forests are
considered one of the richest forest types in Africa, containing large numbers of endemic
species. Among these endemics are 550 plants, 8 mammals, 9 birds, 26 reptiles, 2 frogs, 79
butterflies, more than 89 snails and many more than 20 molluscs. Coastal Forests have gained
global recognition as being part of one of 25 Global Biodiversity Hotspots (Conservation
International). Collectively, these 25 Hotspots cover barely 1.4 % of the planet’s land area but
account for approximately 44 % of all vascular plant species and 35 % of four major
vertebrate groups. Combined with Eastern Arc forests, Coastal Forests contain the highest
levels of species endemism per unit area of remaining intact natural vegetation in the world.
Coastal Forests however epitomise the difficulties of conservation. They are small and highly
fragmented patches surrounded by impoverished rural communities with a high and growing
demand for and dependence on forest resources. Many of the isolated forest patches have
exceptional levels of localised endemism, making prioritisation for conservation difficult.
The Forest Research Programme of Frontier Tanzania was initiated in 1989 to improve the
poor knowledge of Coastal Forest status, distribution and biological character. Over the
following six years the Programme gathered information on 25 Coastal Forests stretching the
length of Tanzania. After gaining considerable experience in survey work of Tanzania’s
Eastern Arc forests, the Forest Research Programme of Frontier Tanzania subsequently
returned to study additional Coastal Forests. The survey methods currently employed have
been standardised and aim to provide systematic baseline information on the biological values
of even more Coastal Forests. The results given in this report are hereby presented to
conservationists and foresters to aid the sustainable long-term development of Tanzania’s
Coastal Forests.
The Programme involved locally employed Field Assistants and Forest Officers, staff from
the University of Dar es Salaam and Frontier Tanzania, and an international network of
taxonomists and other experts. This report is the result of the efforts of these many people and
they are all thanked for their hard work and enthusiasm. It is hoped that the culmination of
their work and the publication of this report will help in some way to ensure the future of the
unique Coastal Forests of East Africa.