Pande Game Reserve and Dondwe Coastal Forests (7012)
Tanzania, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Pande Game Reserve and Dondwe Coastal Forests
Central coordinates: Latitude: -7.0000, Longitude: 39.1667
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 100 to 200
Area of KBA (km2): 12.44196
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site comprises two small, forested areas on the outskirts of the city of Dar es Salaam: Pande Game Reserve (1,226 ha) to the north-west of the city and Dondwe forest (area unknown) to the south. Pande covers a low sandstone ridge 16 km from the Indian Ocean and 6 km from the Dar es Salaam to Bagamoyo road. Four distinct tree-species assemblages have been described. The remaining forest is surrounded by fire-maintained grassland and secondary scrub. Dondwe forest is rather ill-defined and is not mapped. The forested area so far identified is centred on an open prison and a private farm. Parts of Dondwe flood seasonally.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the process of compiling the 2003 CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests Hotspot (which was later [in 2005] split into two Hotspots, the East Afromontane and the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa). Species taxonomy and threat category was based on IUCN Red List 2002.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Circaetus fasciolatus is a low-density resident in both forests. There are several recent records of Anthus sokokensis from Dondwe whilst Zoothera guttata is a regular passage migrant and Sheppardia gunningi a low-density resident. Forest species at Pande include Apaloderma narina, Smithornis capensis, Dicrurus ludwigii, Phyllastrephus flavostriatus, Neocossyphus rufus and Erythrocercus holochlorus. The avifauna of Dondwe forests is similar to that of the nearby Pugu Hills forests (TZ047) and includes the usual species found north of the Rufiji Delta including the locally endemic Trichastoma rufipennis puguensis. Non-bird biodiversity: Three endemic plants and two near-endemics are known from Pande.
Habitats
Land use: forestry | nature conservation and research | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Shrubland | 35 | |
| Forest | 64 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Dondwe requires careful mapping to identify remaining forest and discussions held with owners and stakeholders, with a view to it being given protected status. The fate of Pande forest has been a regular local news item for at least 15 years and it is now nominally protected as a Game Reserve. During the 1980s and early 1990s Pande was used as a source of charcoal, fuelwood and timber by members of the armed forces. By 1990 most of the large trees had been removed and smaller ones were regularly being cut.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Ongoing | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Ongoing | |
| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Only in the future |
Additional information
References: Burgess and Clarke (in press), Burgess, Huxham et al. (1991), Clarke and Dickinson (1995).