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Human and natural impacts on forests along lower Tana river, Kenya: implications towards conservation and management of endemic primate species and their habitat

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Abstract

Seventy-three forest patches were assessed to determine the effects of human and natural impact on native forests along the Lower Tana River flood plains in Kenya between January and March 2001. Seventeen of these forests were within the Tana River Primate National Reserve (TRPNR) while 56 were outside the protected area. Cultivation and dyke construction had the most devastating human impact, which involved partial or complete forest clearing resulting in further fragmentation of forest patches [Suleman MA, Wahungu GM, Mouria PK, Karere GM, Oguge N, Moinde NN (2001) Tana River primate census and forest evaluation. A report to Kenya Wildlife Services]. Natural impacts were either die back or flooding, which appeared to cause progressive degradation of forest structure and biodiversity. Overall, forest area in the Lower Tana significantly reduced by 34.5% (P < 0.001) over a 21-year period. Forest loss was greater outside the reserve (38%) than inside (29.2%) reiterating the significant role played by this protected area in habitat and species conservation. Continued forest loss increases extinction risks for the endemic primate species the Tana River Red Colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus) and the Crested Mangabey sub-species (Cercocebus galeritus galeritus). Initiation of community conservation programmes outside the reserve and introduction of sustainable micro-economic projects were recommended to enhance sustainable livelihoods and the environment.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to express our gratitude to the World Bank Tana GEF Project that funded this work and the Kenya Wildlife Service. The Senior Warden in Tana River Primate National Reserve, Barasa Otunga and field assistants from Mchelelo Research camp who provided invaluable assistance in logistics and data collection, respectively. Many individuals and organizations within Tana River District assisted in different ways and we are extremely grateful for making it possible for us to accomplish the objectives of the study. We would also like to thank Dennis Milewa for his assistance in the production of the map of the study area and Erick Fockler for his critical editing and constructive comments.

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Correspondence to Nancy Nthenya Moinde-Fockler.

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Moinde-Fockler, N.N., Oguge, N.O., Karere, G.M. et al. Human and natural impacts on forests along lower Tana river, Kenya: implications towards conservation and management of endemic primate species and their habitat. Biodivers Conserv 16, 1161–1173 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-006-9096-8

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