Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania

NEWS

CEPF Investment in the Coastal Forests and Eastern Arc Mountains

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) (see project details on the Conservation page) has invested $7 million in supporting civil society organizations across 160 sites in the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests region.

Each grant awarded has helped meet a specific strategic goal identified in the investment strategy. As part of the preparation prior to investment in each hotspot, CEPF determined its unique niche to ensure maximum conservation outcomes per dollar spent. The CEPF niche is the result of a stakeholder-driven prioritization process that factors in socioeconomic features, threats, and current investments alongside the biodiversity science in each hotspot.

The CEPF strategy is underpinned by conservation outcomes - targets against which the success of investments can be measured. These targets are defined at three levels: species (extinctions avoided), sites (areas protected) and landscapes (corridors created).

CEPF currently supports 64 conservation projects in the region, each of which is linked to one of the following strategic goals:

Increase the ability of local populations to benefit and contribute to biodiversity conservation, especially in and around lower Tana River Forests; Taita Hills; East Usambaras / Tanga; Udzungwas and Jozani Forest.
Restore and increase connectivity among fragmented forest patches in the Hotspot, especially in Lower Tana river Forests; Taita Hills; East Usambaras / Tanga and Udzungwas
Improve biological knowledge in the hotspot (all 160 sites eligible).
Establish a small grants program in the hotspot (all 160 sites eligible) that focuses on critically endangered species and small-scale efforts to increase connectivity of biologically important habitat patches.
Develop and support efforts for further fundraising in the hotspot.

CEPF Coordination Unit

CEPF has developed a Coordination Unit within the Coastal Forest and Eastern Arc hotspot who work together to achieve the CEPF outcomes. The unit ensures that an effective, efficient and coordinated approach is applied amongst stakeholders. Members of the Coordination Unit in this hotspot are:

BirdLife International - Africa Secretariat
In Kenya the BirdLife partner is Nature Kenya, in Tanzania the Birdlife partner is the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST).
International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)
Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG)
WWF - East Africa Regional Programme Office (WWF-EARPO)

Other useful links are:

Other CEPF news in the hotspot:

A recent Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between CEPF and the Government of Tanzania regarding the sharing of information with the Forestry and Beekeeping Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. It's an important step toward ensuring that the results of CEPF investment are integrated into management decisions for Tanzania’s forests. It also grants a 75% reduction in entrance fees to Forest Reserves for CEPF grantees, allowing further investment in research and data collection.

CEPF is supporting publication of the Journal of East African Natural History to provide a repository for the information gathered by the CEPF projects, in particular biodiversity data.

BirdLife International, as a member of the coordination unit, has produced a summary of the investment so far in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya (This and other publications can be viewed and downloaded from the CEPF site).

Examples of projects supported by CEPF in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests region are:

Promoting Community Involvement in Resource Protection in and around the Boni-Dodori-Kiunga Protected Area Complex - Africa Conservation Foundation (Kenya).

TALK (Training, Awareness, Learning, and Knowledge) about the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania - TFCG (Tanzania).

Primates on Mt. Kasigau, Kaya Rubai and Along the Tana River, Kenya: Preparing for Red List Assessments and Conservation Action. Conservation International.

Preventing Unsustainable Timber Trade from the Coastal Forests of Southeast Tanzania Following Completion of the Mkapa Bridge - TRAFFIC International.

Promotion of Nature-Based, Sustainable Businesses for Forest-adjacent Communities in the East-Usambara-Tanga, Taita Hills, and Lower Tana River Forests. International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.

Conservation of Zanzibar's Unique Flora and Fauna via Community-Based Forest Management and Socioeconomic Development Around Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park - CARE International and WCS (separate projects) (Tanzania).

Community Biodiversity Conservation Micro-Grants in the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania - WWF (Tanzania).

Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment of the Rehabilitation of theTana Delta Irrigation Project with Design of Critical Primate Habitat Improvement, Increased Indigenous Forest Connectivity and Community Woodlots. National Museum of Kenya.

Plant Conservation Assessment in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya - Missouri Botanical Gardens. To read more about this project click here.

Managing the Interface between Forest Product Extraction and Rural Livelihoods in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests - TRAFFIC International.

Army Ants in the Fragmented Forests of Taita Hills and Lower Tana River. Caspar SchÖning.

If you would like to subscribe to the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests E-newsletter please send an email to newsletter@tfcg.or.tz with subscribe CEPF e-newsletter in the subject line.

Other useful publications:

The Arc Journal

Produced by the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group twice a year, this journal provides up to date information about conservation in the Coastal Forests and Eastern Arc Mountains.

Newsletter EARPO

Produced by WWF-EARPO, gives news within the region and hotspot

Journal of East African Natural History

Publications concerning biodiversity and research in the hotspot

Miombo

Conservation magazine produced by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania.

CREDITS

Nike Doggart The Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), financed by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) has established this website as a part of their environmental education project TALK.

The website was produced by Nike Doggart.

The website material was prepared by Claire Bracebridge, an independent consultant, for TFCG and designed by Mapadamia.

Appreciation and thanks are extended to those individuals involved in reviewing and providing valuable comments on this website. We are grateful for their contributions in making it better. In particular we would like to thank Dr. Neil Burgess of WWF US for providing detailed comments on the text of the website and for providing copies of many relevant publications.

Images, maps and graphics have been collated from a variety of sources and have been credited in the text. The information that they contain may be used for educational and research purposes provided that the relevant organisation is fully credited. Written permission from TFCG is required for any individual or organization wishing to publish or reproduce these items in any fashion. Please contact us if you would like use any graphical items found on this website.