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

negotiations could include raising funds from the local corporate and private sector, whichbenefit from the ecological services (water and hydropower) provided by the Eastern ArcMountains. It should be noted that CEPF cannot capitalize conservation concessions, nor can itpurchase land for conservation.1.4 Build the capacity of community-based organizations in the hotspot for advocacy insupport of biodiversity conservation at all levels. Grassroots advocacy for conservation can helpto prevent theft/invasion/encroachment/ development of sites with biodiversity value (Gordon &Ayiemba 2003). Many excisions have in recent years been made in the name of squatters or ofthe local community, while the land was subsequently allocated to the well connected. In suchsituations, community protests can be more effective than the lobbying of city-based NGOs.Local communities are also effective watchdogs, since they live next to biodiversity sites andknow most about what is going on in them. Local communities often include retired senior civilservants and others with relatives in corridors of power and, therefore, have more leverage thanmay at first be apparent. In Tanzania there are forest and wildlife committees within thevillage/ward structures that could be supported.1.5 Support cultural practices that benefit biodiversity in the hotspot. Sacred forests areknown from all over Africa, but the protection they have enjoyed for centuries is being rapidlyeroded by factors such as cultural change and greatly increased land demand. There are a greatnumber of traditionally protected forests in Tanzania (Mwihomeke et al. 1998), but the most wellknown examples within the hotspot are the Kaya Forests of coastal Kenya. These forests containa high diversity of plants including significant numbers of endemics (Robertson 1987; Robertson& Luke 1993) and Red List plant species (Appendix 2). According to local traditions, the forestshistorically sheltered small fortified villages. The sites of the original settlements (often markedby forest clearings) were maintained by the communities (led by the elders) as sacred places ofritual and burial grounds. Destruction of vegetation around these sites was prohibited so as topreserve the surrounding ‘Kaya’ forest as a screen or buffering environment for the clearings.Since 1992, the Kenyan Government has gazetted a number of them as national monuments,with assistance from the well-known Kaya Project of the Coastal Forest Conservation Unit(CFCU) of The National Museums of Kenya. CEPF should support such initiatives throughoutthe hotspot, with a particular emphasis on contemporary validation of their historical, culturaland biodiversity values.1.6 Research and promote ecoagricultural options for the local communities of the hotspot.McNeely and Scherr (2003) document 36 case studies where agricultural practices improveproductivity and enhance biodiversity. In 25 cases the beneficiaries were subsistence farmers.McNeely and Scherr suggest that ecoagriculture could be usefully promoted around biodiversityhotspots surrounded by poor small-scale farmers. Ecoagriculture includes well-establishedagricultural practices such as agroforestry, medicinal plant domestication, bioprospecting andorganic farming. There is a great deal of ecoagricultural expertise in East Africa, which could beput to use by the local communities in this hotspot. In view of the effectiveness of priceincentives, introduction of high value crops (e.g. medicinal plants and plants containing essentialoils) could be a good option, particularly if these also have positive biodiversity values and ifcontrols on forest encroachment are adequately enforced.57