UNESCO World Heritage Kilimanjaro National Park: Tree Nurseries for Biodiversity

At 5,895m, the Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa. The mountain has five main vegetation zones: lower slopes, mountain forest, heath and moorland, alpine desert and peaks. The whole mountain, including the montane forest belt, is very rich in species, especially mammals, many of which are threatened with extinction. Because of these features, but above all because of its height, physical shape and snow cap, Kilimanjaro is considered an outstanding example of a natural phenomenon of superlatives. The Kilimanjaro National Park covers an area of approximately 75,575ha and protects the largest free-standing volcanic mass in the world.

Restrictions due to the pandemic

The current pandemic poses a serious threat to the conservation of nature reserves in Tanzania. According to tourism statistics, the number of tourist visits has decreased by 98.5 percent since the outbreak of the pandemic. Income from tourism is the only source of funding for nature conservation in all national parks in the country. The impact on daily park operations is accordingly drastic. In order to minimize the effects, a large part of the park operation has been scaled down. Plans to rid the lower mountain forest of invasive species are also affected. The spread of exotic tree species is massive, affecting biodiversity and the forest ecosystem.

Remedy through reforestation and data collection

Funding for the project through #SOSAfricanHeritage enabled the management of Kilimanjaro National Park to carry out activities to clear the lower montane forest of invasive species as planned. Across an area of 90 hectares, park management removed non-native trees and replaced them with 25,000 seedlings of native tree species. The seeds for these had previously been collected from the wild and raised in nurseries. These measures constituted an important step towards the recovery of the ecosystem.

In the areas freed from invasive species, the oark's management also established 46 experimental plots measuring 20 by 20 meters. These plots are used for monitoring how plant communities recover after management actions. These observations will be used to derive and optimize future management strategies.