The Amani Forest Reserve, officially listed as Amani Nature Forest Reserve (''Msitu wa Akiba wa Amani'', In

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

) is a forest reserve of Tanzania located the Muheza and Korogwe Districts in the

Tanga Region Tanga Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions of Tanzania, regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Burundi. The regional capital is the municipalit ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. The

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

was established in 1997 in order to preserve the unique

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

of the East

Usambara Mountains The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges are approximately long and about half that wide, and they are situated in the Lushoto District ...

. The East and West Usambara Mountains are a

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a ecoregion, biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after ...

. The Amani Nature Reserve includes tropical

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

habitats. Amani is home to

African violet ''Streptocarpus'' sect. ''Saintpaulia'' is a section within ''Streptocarpus'' subgenus ''Streptocarpella'' consisting of about ten species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent sout ...

(Saintpaulia), which are thought to have a spiritual component (power of forgiveness) to the native

Shambaa people The Shambaa people, also called the Sambaa, Shambala, Sambala or Sambara (''Wasambaa'', in Swahili language, Swahili), are an ethnic group. The Sambaa people are related to the bondei people. Their ancestral home is on the Usambara Mountains of L ...

, has enormous ecological value in the Amani ecosystem. The region is listed as one of the top 12 bird-watching locations in the world by

Bird Life International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

, and the Reserve is a recognized Man and

Biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

Reserve by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

History

The Amani Nature Reserve was established in 1997 in a forested area in the East Usambara Mountains with an area of , including the Amani Botanical Garden of and a further of forest managed by local tea estates. Traditionally, people living in villages adjacent to the reserve have used the forest as a source of timber, firewood and medicinal plants, a place to gather plants, bush meat, honey and fruit for consumption and a source of live birds, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates for international trade.

Flora

The forests in the reserve have been described as intermediate evergreen forests or submontane evergreen forest, a type of vegetative cover that tends to grow on the seaward side of both the West and East Usambaras. The dominant trees are '' Allanblackia stuhlmannii'', '' Isoberlinia scheffleri'', '' Macaranga capensis'', '' Cephalosphaera usambarensis'', '' Myrianthus holstii'', ''

Newtonia buchananii ''Newtonia buchananii'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. Description ''Newtonia buchananii'' is a tree from 10–40 meter high, forming a loose canopy with a flattish top. It has smooth bark, and the trunk has small buttresses at th ...

'' and '' Parinari excelsa''. A growing problem in the area is the presence of the invasive West African tree '' Maesopsis eminii''. This tree germinates readily from seeds which are spread by birds, springs up in gaps in the canopy and outperforms native tree seedlings, displacing rare endemics and reducing biodiversity. The forests of East Usambara have long been separated from other forests and their isolation makes them more vulnerable to invasive species such as ''M. eminii''.

Fauna

The fauna of the Usambara Mountains has been compared to that of the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

in terms of its richness and biological importance. The area of the Amani Nature Reserve is better studied than many other parts of the range with numerous endemic invertebrates dependent on the native moist forest cover including mites, spiders, freshwater crabs, dragonflies, beetles, butterflies, millipedes and molluscs. There are few large mammals in the reserve.

Duiker A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophinae ...

and

bushpig :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog.'' The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introd ...

are plentiful and there are two species of

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

, but the

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s and

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

s that used to inhabit the area are no longer present. The elusive long-billed forest warbler (''Artisornis moreaui'') is known from the reserve and from one other locality, Mount Namuli in northern Mozambique, away. Some of the endemic animals are named after the mountains in which the nature reserve is set, and these include the

Usambara weaver The Usambara weaver (''Ploceus nicolli'') is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and plantations . It is threatened by habitat loss H ...

(''Ploceus nicolli''), Usambara akalat, Usambara hyliota (''Hyliota usambara'') and the Usambara eagle-owl (''Bubo vosseleri''). Others are named after the reserve, and these include the

Amani sunbird The Amani sunbird (''Hedydipna pallidigaster'') is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane f ...

(''Hedydipna pallidigaster'') and the Amani tailorbird. There are also endemic

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia suborder have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not clos ...

s and

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

s unique to the area.

Amani Hill Research Station

Founded in 1902, after World War II the scientific station became famous for its research into

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. Since the 1970s the laboratory has remained largely unchanged with the specimens and instruments of a long gone by era. As of 2017 the station receives few visitors and the thirty-four staff maintain the entomological collection continuing to add butterflies and other insects.

Attractions

The reserve is endowed with a variety of tourist attractions in addition to Saintpaulia flowers, including endemic species of flora and animals, Unique biodiversity, natural features, and historical and cultural attractions. The reserve is renowned for its diverse bird and

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

species.Scurrah-Ehrhart, Cecilia, and Tom Blomley. "Amani butterfly forest-based enterprise, Tanga, Tanzania." Rights and Resources, unpublished paper (2006).

References