Data Zone
Country/territory: Tanzania
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 180 ha
Site description (2001 baseline)
The highlands around the town of Njombe were originally grasslands, much of which have now been converted to agriculture. South and south-west of Njombe the land is more rugged, with rolling hills cut by deep valleys. Here, there are a few remaining small patches of isolated forest. Of the 14 Forest Reserves listed for Njombe District, it only proved possible to trace any information for four, of which one is a plantation and a second scheduled for timber production. The other two are Litoni (200 ha) and Mpala (69 ha). In addition, there are four forest patches, each less than 100 ha, shown on the map to the south and east of Uwemba while there is some privately-owned forest near the village of Nundu. These forests comprise the provisional extent of this IBA. Surveys are required to identify remaining forest patches and define site boundaries.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Little is known about the birdlife of this area. Hirundo atrocaerulea was considered locally common in the past, but is now much rarer due, in large part, to cultivation of grassland habitats. The type-locality for Sheppardia lowei is ‘Njombe forest’, which is thought most likely to be Mpala Forest Reserve. Other notable species recorded in or around these forests are Microparra capensis, Falco amurensis and Onychognathus tenuirostris.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Njombe forests (Tanzania). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/njombe-forests-iba-tanzania on 22/11/2024.