CONSERVATION IN TANZANIA, CONSERVATION IN THE ULUGURU MOUNTAINS, TANZANIA, EAST AFRICA.

SOME FINDINGS OF THE FIRST YEAR IN THE ULUGURUS.

7. Publications

The project is producing reports of its findings. It is an intention of the project to make this information as widely available as possible. Some of the summary materials are available on this site in downloadable format. Copies of other completed reports will be made available as and when they are finished and they will either be made available in downloadable format, or listed so that people can obtain them easily.

If any of this material is used in other publications it should be credited as follows: this material was generated by the DOF-BirdLife Denmark/WCST-BirdLife Tanzania Uluguru Mountains Biodivesity Conservation Project, supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA).

The current project publication list can be downloaded.



8. Emerging Issues

The project has discovered a major issue of importance to the conservation of the Uluguru forests. In the past decade banana farming has been introduced to the area. This provides food locally and (more importantly) provides a tradable item which can be transported to the capital city and sold for a good profit. This has made some local businessmen wealthy. Unfortunately, the banana plantations are mainly being planted beneath mature montane rainforest.

Public Land forest on the Kitundu Hills above Tandai Village. Here much of the forest has been removed and underplanted with bananas and other crops for transport and sale in Dar es Salaam.

Felled timber trees left to rot on the Ulugurus.

The technique is to clear the shrubs, thin the trees and then plant the bananas. They benfit from the cooler and moisture location beneath the forest canopy. They also benefit from the nutrients relased by the decaying trees which are cut down during the preparation of the land. When yields start to decline some more trees can be cut down to provide additional nutrients for the bananas. Unfortunately this process gradually destroys the forest and eentually it is conveted to subsistence maize farming and all the forest biodiversity values are lost.

Efforts are being made to minimise the further loss of the remaining forest through discussions with local villagers.

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Background Geographical Placement Biological Importance Species DOF Project Activities Other Conservation Values of the Ulugurus Some Findings of the First Year in the Uluguru Status of Uluguru Forests Status of Uluguru Biodiversity Eco-Tourism Tree Planting Agricultural Improvement Education Publications Emerging Issues Downloadable Papers & Articles Contact Details