Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya ...
Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya ... Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya ...
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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Hotspot Vascular Birds Mammals Reptiles AmphibiansPlants<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong> Rich End Rich End Rich End Rich End Rich End<strong>and</strong> <strong>Coastal</strong>T H E A R C J O U R N A L I S S U E 1 6Table 1. Species richness <strong>and</strong> endemism in the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Forests</strong> Hotspot (From Mittermeier etal. 1999).Rich = Species Richness (number <strong>of</strong> species). End = Endemism (number <strong>of</strong> species confined to the hotspot).<strong>Forests</strong> 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 <strong>of</strong> habitat for farml<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> plantations. Manyindividual <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong> <strong>Mountains</strong> (e.g. the EastUsambaras) now contain a number <strong>of</strong> disconnectedhabitat patches that were joined together only a fewdecades ago. Fragmentation <strong>of</strong> 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 <strong>of</strong>species 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 <strong>of</strong> forests in the<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Coastal</strong><strong>Forests</strong> HotspotThe investment pr<strong>of</strong>ile developed for CEPFfundingused data on the distribution <strong>of</strong> species,habitats, threats, <strong>and</strong> existing projects to setpriorities for conservation investment within thishotspot. The CEPF investment <strong>of</strong> $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 <strong>of</strong> local populations in theHotspot to benefit from, <strong>and</strong> contribute to,biodiversity conservation2. R e s t o re <strong>and</strong> increase connectivity amongfragmented forest patches in the Hotspot3. Improve biological knowledge in the HotspotCEPF has requested interested civil societyagencies to complete Letters <strong>of</strong> Inquiry <strong>and</strong>submit them for consideration. The format forthese can be found on cepf.net. The projects thatCEPF supports also need to link to other existingp rojects <strong>and</strong> hence add value to existingconservation efforts in the region. For the <strong>Eastern</strong><strong>Arc</strong> <strong>Mountains</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Tanzania</strong>, a UNDP/GEF projectthrough the Forest Department <strong>of</strong> the Ministry <strong>of</strong>Natural Resources <strong>and</strong> Tourism will develop aholistic conservation strategy for the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong>mountain blocks. It is hoped that CEPF investment willassist in the development <strong>of</strong> 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 <strong>Kenya</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tanzania</strong>, involving groups <strong>of</strong>NGOs <strong>and</strong> government departments. Again it is hopedthat the CEPF investment will help to support these taskforces as they seek to mainstream the conservation <strong>of</strong>coastal forest habitats into government, <strong>and</strong> NGO workprogrammes.It is an exciting time to be involved in the conservation<strong>of</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong> <strong>and</strong> coastal forests in <strong>Tanzania</strong>n (<strong>and</strong><strong>Kenya</strong>) <strong>and</strong> it is hoped that the investment <strong>of</strong> CEPF,when combined with the efforts <strong>of</strong> government, NGOs<strong>and</strong> their various conservation donors will be able tostem the tide <strong>of</strong> forest loss in the region <strong>and</strong> provide theforests <strong>and</strong> their biodiversity with a brighter future.Boundaries <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Forests</strong> Hotspot in <strong>Tanzania</strong><strong>and</strong> the positions <strong>of</strong> relevant protected areas within this region (fromcepf.net - <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Arc</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Forests</strong> Hotspot pr<strong>of</strong>ile).14
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