eastern arc mountains forests of tanzania - Campaign for the ...

Eastern Arc Mountains Forests of Tanzania
The Eastern Arc Mountains rank among the world’s top five sites for their diversity of plants, herpetofauna,
birds and mammals when compared with 21 tropical forest World Heritage sites. They also hold among the
highest numbers and concentration of rare and endangered species and genera of flora and fauna in the
whole of Eastern Africa, including some 1,000 plant taxa believed to be threatened with extinction and 95
vertebrate species, reputedly the highest concentration of threatened species in the world. Much of this
diversity is found within the serial sites, including ‘flagship species’; such as five primate species (Red
Colobus monkey, two species of Mangabey monkey and two or three species of nocturnal Galago) and all
known species of African violets (Saintpaulia).
The 9 core areas that comprise the World Heritage serial nomination are spatially well-distributed across
the Eastern Arc Mountains and hold more than 53% of 554 plant taxa and 76% of 118 vertebrate species
endemic to the Eastern Arc Mountains. Their habitats provide refuge to 77% of the 170 single-site
endemic plant taxa and 70% of the 47 single-site endemic vertebrate species currently known to be
restricted in their distributions to a single mountain block of the Eastern Arc. Thus, each of the nominated
core areas holds from 1 to 68 plant taxa and 1-11 vertebrate species that are unique (endemic) to that
site.
The 9 serial sites contain examples of each of the main types of forest habitat within the Eastern Arc Mountains.
The Udzungwa Mountains National Park and Kilombero Nature Reserve contain the full altitudinal range of the
forest from lowland forest at 200 m, through sub-montane, montane and upper montane forest, to montane
grasslands, heathlands and bogs above the tree line. Drier and ecologically unique montane woodlands are
present on the lee slopes of Udzungwa Mountains, and there are important assemblages of xerophytic plants,
including endemic species, growing on exposed rocky outcrops.
The series of sites encompass at least 50% of the remaining natural habitat in the Eastern Arc Mountains,
including true wilderness where there are no visible human impacts and large mammals, such as elephant, buffalo
and lion, are still found living at high altitudes. The 9 sites are intact and have no people living inside their
boundaries.
Five of the 6 largest remaining patches of protected habitat in the Eastern Arc Mountains are included in the
serial nomination, each of the 5 exceeding 23,000 ha and the rest ranging from approximately 6,000 ha to
14,000 ha. The two largest sites in the series are contiguous (Udzungwa National Park and Kilombero Nature
Reserve) and plans are underway to link Kilombero Nature Reserve with the nearby proposed Uzungwa Scarp
via Mngeta Corridor to provide a contiguous area in excess of 366,000 ha within the Udzungwa Mountain Block.
This would amount to 16% of the total area of the Eastern Arc Mountains. There are also plans to link the two
smallest nature reserves, Amani and Nilo, via Derema Corridor to create a contiguous unit of at least 14,600 ha.
Peripheral to the boundaries of these 9 core areas and, indeed, all natural forests within the Eastern Arc
Mountains are numerous settlements and extensive areas of cultivation, providing little or no short-term
opportunity for establishing adjacent buffer zones.
While there is effectively only 4,000 ha of de facto buffer zone (national Forest Reserves) peripheral to the core
areas, local authority and village Forest Reserves cover an estimated 7,924 ha in the vicinity of the 9 serial sites.
These forests meet some of the livelihood needs of village communities and, thereby, play an important role in
reducing pressures on the forests protected for biodiversity and watershed conservation purposes. Good progress
is also being made in encouraging village communities to establish buffer strips outside and contiguous with the
boundary of nature reserve.
Much more extensive is the network of national Forest Reserves within each mountain block, amounting to some
126,873 ha, which provide ‘stepping stones’, ‘corridors’ and refuges to plants and animals, all of which contributes
to the maintenance and exchange of genetic diversity.
The 9 serial sites comprise 8 nature reserves under the management of the Forestry and Beekeeping Division
(FDB), of which 3 are in the process of being legally notified in 2010, and 1 national park under the management
the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA). All of these protected areas have management plans, with one
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism 76