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Darwin 15/036: Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity Loss in South-East Africa’s Montane Ecosystems

Mt Namuli in northern Mozambique, which supports a number of endemic species, has been visited twice under the project

Across south-eastern Africa lie a series of montane massifs which are of particular biological significance. Composed mainly of old Basement or crystalline rocks rising up to 1500 m above the surrounding lowlands, these mountains include such well-known areas as the Nyika Plateau and Mt Mulanje in Malawi, the Nyanga and Chimanimani mountains in E Zimbabwe, and Mt Gorongosa in C Mozambique. Many of them support upland grassland with numerous endemic plants – over half of Malawi’s endemics are from such grasslands – as well as large areas of moist forest, a habitat under increasing threat.

Despite their significance, the montane massifs found in northern Mozambique are virtually unexplored, although they are known to be species-rich and important for conservation. Mozambique’s only endemic bird, the Namuli Apalis, and at least 8 endemic plant species are known to occur here. For many years, access to these areas has been difficult owing to the independence struggle and later the civil war, but now, as it rapidly develops, the country is trying to identify the most significant areas for conservation and to develop the capacity and skills to manage them, before they are lost to agricultural expansion and unsustainable utilization. The national institution in Mozambique tasked with this initial conservation evaluation is the National Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Institute (IIAM), specifically the National Herbarium and Forestry Research departments in conjunction with the institute’s GIS unit.

To assist IIAM in this task, the Darwin project is bringing together a wide range of expertise:–  the conservation experience of the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT), an NGO based in neighbouring Malawi;  the survey experience on threatened and endemic plants of Kew’s Millennium Seedbank and its partner, the Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM);  and the UK-based taxonomic and survey expertise of the Kew Herbarium for plants and BirdLife International for birds. The project is being led by Kew.

The project’s main purpose is to gather information and develop tools and skills to enable biodiversity management and monitoring across some of these montane ecosystems. Activities include: (1) carrying out field surveys of plant species, vegetation and birds, (2) training a team of researchers and fieldworkers from Mozambique and Malawi to gather and utilize data for both management and monitoring, (3) developing species and habitat recovery plans, (4) developing a monitoring programme for each area, and (5) making recommendations and promoting conservation management to the appropriate national or regional authorities. A series of technical reports will be compiled, one for each area, bringing together existing information and assessments. They will also act as a basis for conservation advocacy by IIAM.

There are five montane massifs being targeted, all situated in the north-central part of Mozambique − Mts Namuli, Chiperone, Mabu, Cucuteia and Inago − ranging from Namuli, a raised granite massif (inselberg) with associated plateau, to spectacular “whalebacks” rising abruptly from the lowlands such as Inago and the forested volcanic-looking Chiperone. So far two expeditions have been carried out − one to Mt Chiperone close to the Malawi border, and the other to the largest and perhaps most diverse area, Mt Namuli, near Gurué. Three more expeditions are planned.

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