By Marjut Valtanen (Originally published Jul 30, 2013)
Art in Tanzania will soon offer a nice bird-watching trip to a protected area of Ruvu forest reserve near Dar es Salaam. The reserve is a 35,000-hectare mosaic of coastal vegetation, including open dry forest, closed dry forest, thicket, swamp, woodland, and grassland. Only 10,000 ha of the reserve can be considered a forest, and most of its riparian forest is in the South.
The Ruvu forest is constantly under pressure from the illegal production of charcoal to supply markets in Dar es Salaam, 45 kilometres Northeast of the reserve. Luckily, conservation efforts have already started.
Currently, the Ruvu Fuelwood Pilot Project, a project of the Forestry and Beekeeping Division, is responsible for managing the reserve, and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TGCG) has been promoting joint forest management at Ruvu South since 2000. The project has seen the establishment of a tree nursery and planting program to recover part of the degraded forest.
Ruvu forest reserve is part of the larger Kisaware district coastal forests, which are an Important Bird Area (IBA) and one of the most important coastal forests of Tanzania. According to BirdLife International, in Tanzania, coastal forest patches that are probably ‘stepping stones’ during migration are under heavy pressure and becoming increasingly fragmented.
Several species are criteria for the status of the IBA. Two are endangered species the Sokoke pipit (Anthus sokokensis) and the Spotted Ground Thrush (Zoothera guttata). Additionally, two species are listed as near threatened: the East Coast Akalat (Sheppardia running) and the Southern Banded Snake-eagle (Circaetus fasciolatus).
One of the recommended conservation efforts is ecotourism related to these species, and bird-watching tours are a perfect match for this recommendation.
“On our discovery tour to the reserve, we walked in the Northern part of tall grassland and thickets. There are comfortable walking paths and nice views over small valleys and fields. In the beginning of the walk, we could hear a call of a coucal, but the bird itself is hiding in the bushes. Several yellow bishops (Euplectes capensis crassirostris) and Common bulbuls (Pycnonotus barbatus) fly around. Then, we spot a Broad-billed roller (Eurystomus glaucurus) sitting quietly among tree branches. My favourite sightings during our walk are four Crowned hornbills (Tockus alboterminatus) and a Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon c. chelicuti).”
Besides being important area for birds, Ruvu forest reserve is also home to four Eastern Arc / Coastal Forest endemic vertebrate species and two species endemic to the coastal forests. There are also 33 species of plants within the reserve, which are endemic to the Swahilian Regional Centre of Endemism. If you are fortunate, you may spot African bush elephants (Loxodonta Africana), listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN red list, which are frequenting the reserve and migrating between here and Northern Selous, another popular game reserve in Tanzania.
As the Ruvu forest reserve is so close to Dar es Salaam, Art in Tanzania intends to offer bird-watching tours and support conservation efforts. “I truly enjoyed our couple of hour’s trip away from the bustling city into this quiet reserve and hope to visit the Southern part of the reserve soon to see which bird species can be spotted there.”
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Marjut Valtanen
Art in Tanzania
Team Leader
Conservation and Fair Trade
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