Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya ...

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The flora and fauna of the Eastern Arc Mountains represent an interesting combinationof species associated with West Africa, Madagascar and even Southeast Asia but, as anartifact of geographic isolation, has resulted in recently evolved species.Biodiversity in the Coastal ForestsPart of the coastal forests ecoregion along the East African coast include the islands ofZanzibar (Unguja and Pemba) and comprises a mosaic of forest patches and interveninghabitats. Closed canopy forest represents only 1 percent of the area but contains atleast 400 endemic plant species out of the 3,000 plant species identified from coastalforests. The remaining 99 percent of the area is a heterogeneous mix including savannawoodlands, bushlands, thickets, and farmland that contain more than 500 endemic plantspecies. Many of the plant species are relicts of a historical connection to the Guineo-Congolian lowland forests of West Africa.The highest biodiversity is found in the various kinds of closed canopy forest vegetation:dry forest, scrub forest, Brachystegia (miombo) forest, riverine forest, groundwaterforest, swamp forest, and coastal/afromontane transition forest. In total, there are morethan 4,500 plant species and 1,050 plant genera. Single site endemism and disjunctdistributions are common, illustrated by the fact that a substantial proportion of theendemic plants are confined to a single forest.Unlike in other hotspots, these forests and the prevalence of endemic species are theresult of geographic isolation. Thus recreating biodiversity conservation corridorsbetween sites is not appropriate, however the current degree of fragmentation of forestswithin individual sites poses a significant threat to the conservation of species. With thisin mind, increasing connectivity between remnant fragments is vital.ThreatsThe most prevalent threat to the remaining forests within the Eastern Arc Mountains andCoastal Forests is habitat destruction leading to fragmentation and loss of remaininghabitats for many known (and unknown) globally threatened species.There are four main threats that, combined, place significant pressure on the remainingforest fragments:• Agriculture;• Commercial timber extraction;• Mining; and• Fires.There are several, yet intrinsically linked root causes of these threats. Burgeoninghuman population exerting pressure on forest resources and land; poverty leading tounsustainable use of forest resources; lack of strategic management and action plans;under-resourced government institutions; a legacy of outdated environmental policiesand legislation; and lack of political will all combine to undervalue forests and theecosystem services that they provide.On the positive side, these problems are widely recognized and various initiatives(including institutional, policy and legislative reforms) have been launched to address2
them. Government, local community and private sector are on the cusp of change inTanzania and Kenya. CEPF’s investment will serve to foster this switch in attitudes.CEPF Niche for InvestmentTanzania and Kenya have had a history of support in the management of naturalresources, both at the national and institutional level and site-specific project activities.There is also a considerable amount of biological inventory and research activities thathas been accomplished over the last centaury. CEPF seeks to capitalize on theseachievements, bearing in mind the biological priorities and threats described above aswell as past and ongoing conservation activities.It is also extremely important to bring into the public domain the current level ofunderstanding and knowledge, as well as the lessons learned from previousconservation approaches so that these can be interpreted back to the communitiescentral to the future conservation of these forests, and applied elsewhere.The ecosystem profile was developed by a team of specialists and culminated in astakeholders’ workshop to identify the most effective means to implement the availablefunding. Twelve themes were developed during the workshop, which were collectivelydebated and refined into the strategic directions, listed below, that focus CEPFinvestment.The Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests was developed as part of the fourthcycle of CEPF profiles and therefore included technical support from ConservationInternational’s Center for Applied Biodiversity Science for scientific, stakeholder-drivendevelopment of conservation outcomes at the species, site and landscape levels.Defining conservation outcomes greatly assisted the focus of CEPF’s investment toensure that these funds have the greatest impact on the most pressing conservationissues.Species outcomesThe results of the outcome definition process indicate that 333 globally threatened (RedList) species occur in this region, with 105 species being represented in Kenya and 307in Tanzania. The globally threatened flora and fauna are represented by 236 plantspecies, 29 mammal species, 28 bird species, 33 amphibian species, and sevengastropod species. Of the 333 globally threatened species, 241 are Vulnerable, 68 areEndangered and 24 are Critically Endangered.Site outcomesThe site outcomes define the CEPF niche in terms of geographical locations. A matrixwas developed overlaying the 333 globally threatened species and the top 152 sites inwhich these species occur. This matrix was enhanced with data from the Important BirdAreas for restricted-range bird species and globally significant congregations of birds.Due to the small size of the region and the degree of natural fragmentation that exists,without which much of the biodiversity would never have evolved in the first place nocorridor outcomes have not been defined in this profile, there are issues of connectivitybetween forest patches within large sites. Many bird species in the Eastern ArcMountains are known to move seasonally from the montane forest to the lowland, andaltitudinal forest corridors are necessary for this to occur. This issue particularly relatesto maintaining montane to lowland forest transitions in the Eastern Arc Mountains part of3
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Eastern Arc Mountainsand Coastal Fo
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CEPF FACT SHEETEastern Arc Mountain
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ECOSYSTEM PROFILEEASTERN ARC MOUNTA
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CONTENTSINTRODUCTION...............
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BACKGROUNDInternational interest in
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In terms of plant biogeography, the
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Mountains are all taken from Newmar
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The degree of faunal endemism in th
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The largest of the Kenyan forest re
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percent) of the Kenyan coastal fore
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corridor outcomes are being defined
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nine globally threatened species an
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Table 3. Numbers of sites with Crit
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Figure 1 (continued)*Site # Site Na
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Government Institutional Framework
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Nongovernmental OrganizationsEast A
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4. Support the government policy of
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Box 1 National Forest Policy goal a
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(d) Forestry Based Industries and P
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Other coastal mineral resources of
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The major social trend in both coun
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Table 3. Major threats in the Easte
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Commercial Timber ExtractionThere h
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Ranking of Threats in TanzaniaBecau
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• Decision-makers inadequately in
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long-term funding and institutional
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years due to a lack of funding. Oth
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GEF-UNDP or GTZ support, as did the
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During the group and plenary discus
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concentrate on synergistic and dire
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2. Restore and increase connectivit
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compiling lists of species and asse
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CEPF will support efforts to raise
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ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXTACCAW
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REFERENCESAxelrod, D.I. & P.H. Rave
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Kesley, M. G. & T. E. S. Langton. 1
Page 73 and 74: patterns, diversity and endemism. B
Page 75 and 76: Taphozous hildegardeae + x xBirds 3
Page 77 and 78: Baphia macrocalyx +Baphia pauloi +B
Page 79 and 80: Kotschya platyphylla +Kraussia spec
Page 81 and 82: Sibangea pleioneura +Sorindeia cala
Page 83 and 84: Kaya Jibana KE 1 7 8 8Kaya Rabai KE
Page 85 and 86: Pangani (Hale-Makinjumbe) TZ 1 1 1P
Page 87 and 88: Buxus obtusifolia VU PCroton jatrop
Page 89 and 90: Kraussia speciosa VU PMkilua fragra
Page 91 and 92: Mesogyne insignis VU PMildbraedia c
Page 93 and 94: Synsepalumsubverticillatum VU PTare
Page 95 and 96: Kaya Muhaka KE 4.33 39.53Vitellario
Page 97 and 98: Anthus sokokensis EN BAoranthe pend
Page 99 and 100: Gigasiphon macrosiphon EN PGuibourt
Page 101 and 102: Coffeapseudozanguebariae VU PRhynch
Page 103 and 104: Nguru Mountains TZ 6.09 37.51 32908
Page 105 and 106: (Pande game reserve, DondweFR)Coffe
Page 107 and 108: Tarenna drummondii VU PTessmannia d
Page 109 and 110: Shimoni Forests KE 4.65 39.38Paraxe
Page 111 and 112: magnistipulataMacaranga conglomerat
Page 113 and 114: Canthium siebenlistii VU PCephaloph
Page 115 and 116: longipedunculatumDiospyros amaniens
Page 117 and 118: (Uluguru North FR, UluguruSouth FR,
Page 119 and 120: Scolecomorphus vittatus VU ASuregad
Page 121 and 122: Neohemsleyausambarensis VU POcotea
Page 123: An Overview of CEPF’s Portfolio i
Page 127 and 128: 5. Develop and support efforts for
Page 129 and 130: Reviewers look at:• the relevance
Page 131 and 132: Box 1: Udzungwa Mountains National
Page 133 and 134: established in the region and elsew
Page 136: Eastern Arc Mountains Portfolio Pro
Page 139 and 140: CEPF Investment Coordination and Su
Page 141 and 142: Conservation Ecology of the Endange
Page 143 and 144: Stakeholders Identify Priorities fo
Page 145 and 146: Tanzania Seizes 157 Containers of T
Page 147 and 148: CEPF Set for Expansionhttp://www.ce
Page 150 and 151: Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal F
Page 152 and 153: T H E A R C J O U R N A L I S S U E
Page 154 and 155: Kenya Times Newspaperfile://D:\East
Page 156 and 157: La Tanzanie et le Kenya reçoivent
Page 158: The Dominion: Tiomin Given Final Ap
Page 161 and 162: The Dominion: Tiomin Given Final Ap
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