Handeni District Coastal Forests (7017)
Tanzania, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Handeni District Coastal Forests
Central coordinates: Latitude: -5.5000, Longitude: 38.5000
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 80 to 545
Area of KBA (km2): 57.57565
Protected area coverage (%): 96.90
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Handeni District lies inland of Pangani District (TZ056). It runs west a further 120 km to the Nguu mountains (TZ060) and is one of the few districts to contain both coastal and montane forest. Inland of the coastal lowlands the land rises gradually and becomes dryer, forest giving way to woodland. Six Forest Reserves in Handeni District have affinities with coastal forest habitat: Gendagenda North (1,295 ha), Gendagenda South (1,919 ha), Bondo (328 ha), Mtunguru (2,305 ha), Kwasumba (2,933 ha) and Magambazi (750 ha). Of these, only the two Gendagenda forests have been investigated for birds and are included in the IBA.
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. To date, a total of 57 species including Tauraco fischeri, Anthreptes reichenowi, Phyllastrephus fischeri and Erythrocercus holochlorus have been recorded. Circaetus fasciolatus has recently been recorded from the Gendagenda area. All the typical coastal forest species that are known from nearby Msumbugwe Forest Reserve (TZ056) can be expected at this site. Zoothera guttata is likely to occur on passage. Non-bird biodiversity: Clarke and Stubblefield (1995) list 26 mammal species, three forest-dependent reptiles, nine amphibians and three near-endemic plants.
Delineation rationale: 2013-07-24 (BL Secretariat): site extent has been increased from over-conservative estimate of 3214 ha (2001 pan-African IBA book) to 12,000 ha (to cover the six Forest Reserves mentioned in that book).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | forestry | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 98 | |
| Shrubland | 1 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Although large areas are sparsely populated, shifting cultivation is reducing forest and woodland to scrub and secondary growth. All the usual problems of timber removal, pole-cutting, fire, agricultural encroachment and hunting are occurring. Persistent burning is encroaching on remaining forest and preventing forest regeneration outside reserves. Gendagenda faces more intensive human use than many other coastal forests and may become degraded beyond repair in the near future. Consideration should be given to creating fuelwood plantations away from, but within walking distance of, Gendagenda Forest Reserve.
Additional information
References: Clarke and Stubblefield (1995), Fottland (1996), Hawthorn (1984).