Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
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.
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.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
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.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Handeni District Coastal Forests (Tanzania). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/handeni-district-coastal-forests-iba-tanzania on 23/12/2024.
