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

SOME FINDINGS OF THE FIRST YEAR IN THE ULUGURUS.

2. Status of Uluguru Biodiversity

The project has been assessing the status of the Uluguru endemic species of animals and plants. This work has been most detailed for birds. A recent survey of the Uluguru Bush Shrike by a combined Danish-Tanzanian team was able to locate several breeding areas of the Shrike, and even managed to find young birds being fed by their parents. The total population of the species in the Ulugurus was estimated as 1150 pairs. Hence, despite the loss of much of its preferred mid-altitude forest habitat, it still has a reasonable population in the Ulugurus and is not under immediate threat of extinction. However, its long term survival is closely tied to the future use of the lower altitude forest areas in the Uluguru North Forest Reserve. Further information on the status of the Uluguru endemic birds and other animals and plants will be made available on this site in the future. See also www.easternarc.org for other biological information.

Uluguru Bush Shrike

3. Ecotourism

The project is assisting the Tanzanian government to find ways in which tourists might be encouraged to visit the Uluguru Mountain forests. Currently almost no tourists visit the forests, except for a few birdwatching groups which want to see the endemic and near-endemic birds. A tourist leaflet is in preparation which will provide the information needed to visit the Ulugurus along some of the existing paths which run through the forest. Link to downloadable file of Uluguru Tourism information.



4. Tree planting

Trees are a valuable local resource to the people living around the Uluguru forests. However, farmland is an even more important resource and hence most trees have been removed from the land outside the Uluguru forest reserves. Fuel wood, building poles and some other woody materials are still obtained from within the forest, but timber resources are not being harvested from the reserves. In an attempt to provide alternatives to the exploitation of the forest, the project is supporting tree nurseries for the local people, for planting on their farms, or for afforesting areas. During this year more than 100,000 tree seedlings have been grown, and nearly half of these are native species, especially African mahogany (Khaya anthotheca). The villages around the Ulugurus have also established several village forest reserves, which provide one way in which native forest can be conserved outside of the larger Forest Reserves.



5. Agricultural improvement

The people living around the Uluguru mountains are subsistence farmers in the main, and as their population increases then they need larger areas of land for growing food. The increase in the area of agricultural land is the main reason for the decline in the area of forested land in the Ulugurus. Efforts are therefore being made to assist the improvement of the agricultural systems so that more food can be grown from smaller areas of land, thus allowing people to continue to live in the area in the future without encroaching into the Forest Reserves and their last remaining forests of the mountains.

Agricultural improvements are taking the form of training and demonstration plots, and encouraging farmers to form groups to share experience and hence develop expertise in improved agricultural methods. In one area of the Ulugurus where a local organisation UMADEP has been concentrating for 10 years there has been a marked improvement in agricultural productivity and also in the diversity of crops which are grown. This has assisted in raising living standards in this area.



6. Education

One of the conservation problems in the Ulugurus Mountains is the lack of awareness of the values of the mountains within the local communities. One of the approaches taken by the project is to work with schools to try and raise this awareness of the unique nature of the mountain. One approach has been to use art competitions to do this work.

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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