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

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T H E A R C J O U R N A L I S S U E 1 6New conservation investment into the Eastern ArcMountains and Eastern African Coastal Forestsbiodiversity “Hotspot”Neil Burgess, WWF-USA Conservation Science Program, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington DC, USAThe term biodiversity ‘Hotspot’ was first applied in 1988when an English Professor (Norman Myers) wrote apaper that identified regions in the world where at least0.5% of all the worlds plants are concentrated,including the Tanzanian Eastern Arc Mountains. The‘Hotspots’ idea captured the interest of manyconservationists - if they could identify those areaswhere endemic species were concentrated and thenundertake effective work in the same areas - then muchof the biodiversity of the world could be saved atrealistic expense and within relatively small amounts ofthe worlds land.The ‘Hotspots’ concept was further refined between1996 and 1998 when the USA-based conservationNGO ‘Conservation International’ completed ac o m p rehensive global re-analysis of global plantBiodiversity Hotspots. In order to qualify eachproposed area had to have at least 1,500 plants whollyendemic to it (approximately 0.5% of the worlds totalknown species of plants), and at least 75% of theoriginal habitat needed to have been destro y e d .Through this process, twenty-five plant hotspots wereidentified around the world. Together these contain133,399 endemic plant species (44% of the knownworld total) and 9,681 endemic animals (35% of thetotal known). These Hotspots cover an area of 2.1million km2, or about 1.4 % of the land area of theglobe.Five of the 25 hotspots are found on mainland Africaand one covers Madagascar and nearby islands. InTanzania there is a single plant Hotspot, which is partlyshared with Kenya – the Eastern Arc and easternAfrican Coastal Forests Hotspot (Figure 1). Over thepast year efforts have been made to identify prioritiesfor conservation investment into this Hotspot and $7million has now been made available for conservationin the area by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund(CEPF), which is a collaboration between ConservationI n t e rnational, the World Bank, the MacArt h u rFoundation, the Global Environment Facility and theJapanese Government (see cepf.net). During therecent CEPF assessment, updated information wascompiled on a number of diff e rent measures ofbiodiversity value in the Hotspot, especially habitatarea, and the distribution of endemic and globallythreatened species.Habitats. The hotspot is estimated to have originallysupported around 23,000 km 2 of forest, of which around15,000 km 2 was left in 1900, and a maximum of 5,340km 2 remained by the mid 1990s. These forestedhabitats were embedded within much larger areas ofhigh altitude grasslands and low altitude savannawoodlands and bushlands. Forest area has declinedprimarily due to clearance for agricultural use, but alsodue to logging, clearance to make charcoal and due to13the spread of wildfires. Most remaining forest patchesare found in areas protected by the Government,principally as Forest Reserves. There is no accuratedata on the current status of the habitats of the Hotspot,but information from all sources indicates a continuedand sometimes serious decline, especially of forest andmontane grassland habitats.Endemic species. Current data show that the hotspotis home to at least 1,400 endemic plant species, 16endemic mammals, 22 endemic birds, 50 endemicreptiles and 33 endemic amphibians (Table 1). Theextremely dense packing of endemics in the small areaof remaining habitat of this Hotspot makes many of theplants and animals in this hotspot threatened withglobal extinction. The level of extinction risk is used asa core part of the CEPF process to identify conservationpriorities in the Hotspot.Globally threatened species. All species listed asglobally threatened by IUCN that are found in theEastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzaniaand Kenya have been identified and their distributionsmapped. The globally threatened fauna (based onIUCN classifications) in the hotspot are represented by29 mammal species, 28 bird species, 33 amphibianspecies, and 7 gastropods. The globally threatenedflora contains 237 plant species, which is regarded asa great underestimate. In total, 334 globally threatenedspecies are found, with 110 species in Kenya and 310in Tanzania (see cepf.net). The degree of threat toreptiles, freshwater fish, and almost all groups ofinvertebrates has not been assessed and hence thesespecies could not be used in this exercise.Sites. The CEPF process used the number of globallyt h reatened species to identify critical sites forconservation investment. A number of sites in thisHotspot have very high numbers of threatened species.These include: East Usambara Mountains, UluguruMountains, Udzungwa Mountains, West UsambaraMountains, Shimba Hills, Lindi District Coastal Forests,Nguru Mountains, Taita Hills, South Pare Mountains,and Kisarawe District Coastal Forests. These are thekey areas for conservation efforts seeking to preventextinction within the hotspot.Landscapes and corridors. The Eastern Arc mountainblocks are naturally isolated due to their topographyand cooler and moister climates. They are surroundedby a ‘sea’ of hot and dry savanna that prevents themovement of species between different blocks. In thelowland coastal forests, it might appear that forestcover could have been almost continuous in the distantpast (and therefore cover a vast area). However thedistribution patterns of species in these forests indicateparts of this forest have also been isolated for a longtime. These ancient patterns of forest isolation have
Hotspot Vascular Birds Mammals Reptiles AmphibiansPlantsEastern Arc Rich End Rich End Rich End Rich End Rich Endand CoastalT H E A R C J O U R N A L I S S U E 1 6Table 1. Species richness and endemism in the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests Hotspot (From Mittermeier etal. 1999).Rich = Species Richness (number of species). End = Endemism (number of species confined to the hotspot).Forests 4000 1400 585 22 183 16 188 50 63 33been dramatically changed over the past few hundred(or perhaps 1000) years as humans have cleared largeareas of habitat for farmland and plantations. Manyindividual Eastern Arc Mountains (e.g. the EastUsambaras) now contain a number of disconnectedhabitat patches that were joined together only a fewdecades ago. Fragmentation of the forest habitat atthis local scale has serious consequences forbiodiversity conservation. In particular it is well knownthat as habitat patch sizes fall, then the number ofspecies within them declines. Below a certain size,then a species will become extinct within a patch. Toprevent this occurring, connecting the forest patchesthrough habitat corridors is an essential conservationstrategy.CEPF Role in assisting theconservation of forests in theEastern Arc and CoastalForests HotspotThe investment profile developed for CEPFfundingused data on the distribution of species,habitats, threats, and existing projects to setpriorities for conservation investment within thishotspot. The CEPF investment of $7 million overthe next 5 years will be available to civil societyinstitutions (NGOs, CBO, private sector,parastatals, Universities) to undert a k econservation investments within three broad areasthat were agreed by various stakeholders from theregion.1. Increase the ability of local populations in theHotspot to benefit from, and contribute to,biodiversity conservation2. R e s t o re and increase connectivity amongfragmented forest patches in the Hotspot3. Improve biological knowledge in the HotspotCEPF has requested interested civil societyagencies to complete Letters of Inquiry andsubmit them for consideration. The format forthese can be found on cepf.net. The projects thatCEPF supports also need to link to other existingp rojects and hence add value to existingconservation efforts in the region. For the EasternArc Mountains of Tanzania, a UNDP/GEF projectthrough the Forest Department of the Ministry ofNatural Resources and Tourism will develop aholistic conservation strategy for the Eastern Arcmountain blocks. It is hoped that CEPF investment willassist in the development of this strategy, which will bethe main government vehicle for prioritisingc o n s e rvation investment into this region. For thecoastal forests, national coastal forest task forces areestablished in Kenya and Tanzania, involving groups ofNGOs and government departments. Again it is hopedthat the CEPF investment will help to support these taskforces as they seek to mainstream the conservation ofcoastal forest habitats into government, and NGO workprogrammes.It is an exciting time to be involved in the conservationof Eastern Arc and coastal forests in Tanzanian (andKenya) and it is hoped that the investment of CEPF,when combined with the efforts of government, NGOsand their various conservation donors will be able tostem the tide of forest loss in the region and provide theforests and their biodiversity with a brighter future.Boundaries of the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests Hotspot in Tanzaniaand the positions of relevant protected areas within this region (fromcepf.net - Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests Hotspot profile).14
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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
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patterns, diversity and endemism. B
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Taphozous hildegardeae + x xBirds 3
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Baphia macrocalyx +Baphia pauloi +B
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Kotschya platyphylla +Kraussia spec
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Sibangea pleioneura +Sorindeia cala
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Kaya Jibana KE 1 7 8 8Kaya Rabai KE
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Pangani (Hale-Makinjumbe) TZ 1 1 1P
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Buxus obtusifolia VU PCroton jatrop
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Kraussia speciosa VU PMkilua fragra
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Mesogyne insignis VU PMildbraedia c
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Synsepalumsubverticillatum VU PTare
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Kaya Muhaka KE 4.33 39.53Vitellario
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Anthus sokokensis EN BAoranthe pend
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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 and 124: An Overview of CEPF’s Portfolio i
Page 125 and 126: them. Government, local community a
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 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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