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

Eastern Arc Mountains Forests of Tanzania
The statistics also suggest that the Eastern Arc Mountains have a higher number of threatened species (animals)
than many of the other World Heritage properties compared in Table 5, many of which are known to be endemic
to these Mountains. However, it is acknowledged that data are unavailable or not comprehensive for quite a
number of properties, including plants in the case of the Eastern Arc Mountains.
African comparisons
Plant endemism in tropical Africa (excluding the Cape) peaks in upland mountain ranges, where the Eastern Arc
has almost as many endemic plant species compared with the entire Albertine Rift, which is about 5 times larger
and has a greater altitudinal range (Table 7). Eastern Arc vertebrate endemism compares favourably with the
Albertine Rift (and Cameroon Highlands) and, in the case of reptiles, is higher than the Albertine Rift.
Table 7: Comparison of endemic species richness in African mountain forests (sorted by area of region)
Ecosystem Broad area (ha) Vascular plant
endemics
Mammal
endemics
Bird
endemics
Reptile
endemics
Amphibian
endemics
Data
sources
Albertine Rift 10,390,000 567 34 51 21 39 (3) (8)
Cameroon
Highlands
Eastern Arc
Mountains
3,800,000 >50 14 24 12 26 (9) (3)
2,370,000 554 15 37 39 31 (6) (3)
Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a World Heritage, is located in Tanzania close to the Eastern Arc
Mountains. It is relatively recent in geological origin (less than 2 million years) and its forests are not known to
possess any strictly endemic species of vertebrates or plants. The only endemic species located on Kilimanjaro
are in the montane heathlands and moorlands at high altitude, and these are all recently evolved from species that
have managed to colonise through long distance aerial dispersal, for example giant lobelia, giant senecio and
various insects. In comparison, the Eastern Arc Mountains are vastly richer in terms of narrowly endemic species
of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants, and their forests have a very much longer history stretching back almost
certainly 30 if not 100 million years.
3.d Integrity
The 9 sites comprising the serial nomination proposed for the Eastern Arc Mountains Forests of Tanzania World
Heritage property contain the full range of altitudinal variation in habitats and biomes associated with this
ecosystem, ranging from lowland forest to submontane, montane and upper montane forest, as well as high
altitudinal grassland, wetlands and bogs. 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
(precise data are not available). The more remote sites are true wilderness, with large mammals such as
elephant, buffalo and lion still found living at high altitudes where there are no visible human impacts.
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 (see Annex 3). 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 contigous 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 the Derema Corridor to create a contigous unit of at
least 14,600 ha.
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism 80