Albertine Rift

Biodiversity
Flagship Species
Threats
Conservation

The Albertine Rift, a series of high mountain chains that separates the Guineo-Congolian rainforest of Central Africa from the forest-savanna mosaic habitats of East Africa, is an area of exceptional faunal endemism. This is where the first chimpanzees and gorillas were studied in the wild, at Gombe Stream and Virunga Volcanoes, respectively, and is probably the best place in the world to see these charismatic flagship species. While the region is not as rich in plant species as others elsewhere on the continent, the Albertine Rift is the most species-rich region for vertebrates in Africa (Brooks et al. 2001).

Various definitions of the Albertine Rift have been given by different groups such as BirdLife International (Stattersfield et al. 1998), the World Wildlife Fund (Olson and Dinerstein 1998), and the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (Kanyamibwa and Tumwebaze 1999), all with a good deal of overlap, but also some differences in geographical coverage. Since 2001, the protected area authorities from this region and their NGO partners have been developing a strategic framework for conservation in the Albertine Rift. As part of this process, it was agreed that the definition of the Albertine Rift should be left as wide and as inclusive as possible until such time as it could be clearly and properly refined. The current definition adopted by this process, therefore, extends from 30 km north of Lake Albert down to the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika, encompassing the Rift Valley itself, the lakes in the Rift, and the flanks of the escarpment and associated protected areas. According to this definition, the area covers about 313 051 km², including all natural habitats within 100 km east of the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and follows the 900-m contour line in eastern DRC and includes the protected areas in northern Zambia. The 900-m contour was selected because there are museum collections of Albertine Rift endemic birds at the Africa Museum in Tervuren, Belgium, which have been recorded at this altitude (Plumptre et al. 2003a).

The Albertine Rift contains the well-known “Mountains of the Moon” or Rwenzori Massif, made famous by nineteenth-century explorers such as Burton and Speke; the Virunga Volcanoes (Virungas), renowned for their mountain gorillas; Lake Tanganyika, at 1 470 m deep, the world's second deepest lake; and active volcanoes in the Virunga National Park. Volcanic activity has been pivotal in the formation of the Albertine Rift, created as it was through a process of upliftment and volcanism associated with the origins of Africa's mighty Rift Valley and famous valley lakes. Large cracks down the eastern side of Africa, formed by the rotation of the African continental mass, were filled to form lakes, including Lake Tanganyika. This was accompanied by an upwelling of volcanic material, most spectacularly visible in the volcanoes within the Parc de Volcans and the Virunga National Park. Most of the mountain blocks in the Albertine Rift reach altitudes of between 2 000 and 3 500 m, but a number of peaks exceed 4 500 m, with the highest peak being Mt. Margherita (5 110 m) in the Rwenzoris, Africa's third highest peak.

The vegetation of the Albertine Rift is dominated by montane rainforest, but it undergoes changes with altitude, from the glaciers and rock at the top of the Rwenzori Mountains (5 100 m), down through alpine moorland (3 400–4 500 m), giant Senecio and lobelia vegetation (3 100–3 600 m), giant heather (3 000–3 500 m), raised bogs (3 000–4 000 m), bamboo forest (2 500–3 000 m), montane forest (1 500–2 500 m), to mid-altitude and lowland forest (600–1 500 m), savanna woodland (600–2 000 m), and savanna grassland (600–2 500 m). Papyrus and Carex wetlands are found around the lakes and some streams, and the lakes have their own habitat types varying from rocky and sandy edges to the pelagic zones in their depths. Some particularly unusual habitats include those around the volcanic hot springs and the peculiar sclerophytic vegetation that colonizes old lava flows in the Virunga National Park in eastern DRC.

The Albertine Rift experiences a varied climate, largely as a result of the influence of the high mountains. In the highlands, the climate is temperate, although at lower altitudes it is hot and humid. Average rainfall throughout the Albertine Rift varies between 1 200 and 2 200 mm per year. There is evidence of rising temperatures in the region with the retreat of glaciers at the summit of the Rwenzori Mountains, which has been documented since the early 1900s (Osmaston 1996).

Humans have been living in the Albertine Rift for thousands of years. The initial ethnic groups were probably similar to the current Batwa and Bakonjo, peoples who lived off the forests like the pygmies in Central Africa. About 2 000 years ago, “Bantu” peoples moved into the region from West Africa, and also from the north, and settled to form various ethnic groups. Throughout much of the region there is a separation between pastoralists (Banyamulenge, Hima, Tutsi) and the many groups of agriculturalists growing crops traditionally. Until the region was colonized by the British, Germans, and Belgians, there were many kingdoms along the Rift, a number of which were very aggressive (particularly in Rwanda and Burundi) and were avoided by the early explorers as a result. Many of these kingdoms were divided during colonization, and tribal groups occur on both sides of the existing international borders.

Biodiversity

Higher plants have been relatively well surveyed in the forests of Uganda and Rwanda, but elsewhere in the Albertine Rift studies have been patchy. Currently, 5 793 plant species (from 1 537 genera and 233 families) have been recorded, but this number will rise as surveys are discovering new species regularly, even within Uganda. The number of plant species is high compared with regions of similar size, and accounts for 14% of all mainland Africa's estimated plant species. The Wildlife Conservation Society's Albertine Rift Program has compiled a preliminary list of endemic species in the region, and at present it is estimated that there are 551 endemic species. No plant families appear to be endemic to the Albertine Rift, but three genera (Afroligusticum, Micractis, and Rhaesteria) are found nowhere else. These lists are based on published flora descriptions of plant families, but many families have not been monographed for the DRC or East Africa or both. As a result, this list could increase greatly when lower plants and little-studied growth forms such as climbers, epiphytes, lichens, and mosses are included. Virunga National Park in eastern DRC and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda have the highest recorded numbers of plant species, but both sites have been relatively intensively surveyed. Western Tanzania, particularly around Mahale Mountains National Park, also appears to be particularly rich in plant species. There are few records from the Marungu Massif and Itombwe Massif in eastern DRC, but these regions also could be relatively species rich.

The Albertine Rift is very rich in vertebrate species, and is home to more than half of Continental Africa's birds and nearly 40% of its mammals (Plumptre et al. 2003a). Indeed, there are more endemic mammals, birds, and amphibians here than in any other region in Africa. Only the island of Madagascar has more endemic species. A total of 402 mammal species (in 158 genera) have been recorded in the Albertine Rift, of which 35 are endemic. Most of the endemic mammals are shrews and rodents, despite the fact that small mammals have been poorly surveyed throughout much of the Rift, particularly towards the southern end, and it is very likely that more species will be added with further effort. There are two endemic genera, both monotypic, the Ruwenzori shrew (Ruwenzorisorex suncoides, VU) and Delany's swamp mouse (Delanymys brooksi).

At least 1 061 bird species (in 368 genera) occur in the Albertine Rift, of which 4.5% are migratory species that overwinter in the region and don't breed here, but pass through on migrations within the African Continent. Although this is the most thoroughly surveyed group of animals, new species for the Rift continue to be added as migrant species and new range extensions are recorded. Endemic birds in the region number 41, with three endemic genera (Pseudocalyptomena, Graueria, and Hemitesia). The currently accepted definition of the Albertine Rift includes two contiguous Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs), as defined by BirdLife International, namely the Albertine Rift and the Eastern Zairean Lowlands (Stattersfield et al. 1998). It has been argued that the two EBAs should be merged based on the fact that old museum collections of Albertine Rift endemic species show they occur at lower altitudes in eastern DRC and that they overlap in altitudinal range with the Eastern Zairean lowland species (M. Herremans, pers. comm.). The Itombwe Massif, an unprotected area west of the northern end of Lake Tanganyika, contains more endemic species than any other site in the Albertine Rift, and is the top priority for conservation in this hotspot at present.

About 14% of Africa's reptiles, and 19% of the continent's amphibians, occur in the Albertine Rift. As with other groups, it is likely that these numbers will increase with additional survey work. Sixteen reptile species (of a total of 175 recorded) and 31 amphibians (of 146 species) are endemic to the region, with the Virunga National Park having the highest numbers of endemic species for both groups. Three amphibian genera are endemic to the Albertine Rift, all represented by single species: Parker's tree toad (Laurentophryne parkeri), the Itombwe golden frog (Chrysobatrachus cupreonitens), and African painted frog (Callixalus pictus, VU). The former two species are confined to the Itombwe Massif, although the African painted frog is known from both the Itombwe Massif and western Rwanda.

The lakes of the Albertine Rift (Albert, George, Edward, Kivu, and Tanganyika) contain large numbers of endemic fish species. Although not strictly thought of as Albertine Rift habitats, these lakes do show a history of interconnection with one another and also with Lake Victoria (Snoeks 2000). Lake Tanganyika is home to over 300 fish species, and about 75% of them are endemic. However, only 10% of Lake Tanganyika's shore has been explored and over 1 200 species (vertebrates and invertebrates) have been recorded, making it the second highest recorded diversity for any lake on Earth (Patterson and Makin 1998). Lakes George and Edward have 56 fish species endemic to these two lakes, while Kivu and Albert have 15 and 6 endemic fishes, respectively. A conservative estimate of freshwater fish diversity indicates that, together with their surrounding drainages, the lakes Kivu, Edward, George, Albert, and Tanganyika harbor over 400 fish species, 274 of which are endemic. Most of the endemic fishes are cichlids, with 226 endemic species and 47 endemic genera. However, a more recent assessment suggests that these numbers are a clear underestimate, and that the number of endemics could be at least 366 species, with around 350 of these being cichlids (Snoeks 2000). These colorful fish are very popular with aquarists, and there are many new species awaiting discovery and scientific description. Other families that have high levels of endemism include bagrid catfishes (with two endemic genera), spiny eels (11 endemic species), and snooks (five endemic species). The Nile perch (Lates niloticus) is the most infamous snook of the six Tanganyika Lates species. Able to reach a length of two meters, this species is associated with the extinction of about 200 endemic cichlids following its introduction to Lake Victoria in 1954 (Ogutu-Ohwayo 1990). The snooks, together with two small pelagic herrings —Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae—, comprise the bulk of the commercial fisheries' catch in Lake Tanganyika (FAO 2001).

While invertebrate taxa have been poorly studied, this region is known to have a large number of endemic butterflies. The total number of butterfly species found in the Albertine Rift is unknown, but in Uganda, inventories of the forests in the Albertine Rift show that at least 581 species of butterflies (16% of the estimated 3 630 species in Africa) occur in this part of the hotspot alone (Howard and Davenport 1996). Given the numbers from Uganda and Tanzania, it is possible that up to 1 300 butterflies might occur in the Rift, about 36% of Africa's total. Currently, 117 endemic species from 49 genera are known from the Albertine Rift (Plumptre et al. 2003a). A single genus is restricted to the Albertine Rift, namely Kumothales, while the Ufipa swallowtail (Papilio ufipa) is found only in Mbizi Forest on the Ufipa Plateau.

The Albertine Rift is important not only for its biodiversity, but also for its ecological processes. The savannas of the Murchison Falls, Virunga, and Queen Elizabeth National Parks, used to contain the highest biomasses of large mammals on Earth, at least until the 1960s (Laws et al. 1975; Plumptre and Harris 1995). War and poaching led to major decreases in the numbers of large mammals in these parks, but most of these species are still present and have the potential to recover to their former levels if afforded good protection. The volcanoes in the Virungas influence the ecology of a large portion of the Virunga National Park and its surroundings; there are probably unique species associated with these volcanoes, but few surveys of their fauna and flora have been conducted.

Flagship Species

The Albertine Rift is steeped in flagship species, but the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei, CR) and Grauer's gorilla (G. b. graueri, EN) are the best known. Made famous through the pioneering work of George Schaller and Dian Fossey, the mountain gorilla has been the focus of many wildlife films and Hollywood movies. Loss of habitat and hunting led to a decline in the population of mountain gorillas to a low of about 250 in the Virungas (Sholley 1991), and about 300 gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park by the late 1980s (Butynski and Kalina 1998; Butynski 2001). Since then, better protection has led to increases in both populations, with the current estimate at about 380 in the Virungas and 320 in Bwindi. Grauer's gorilla has not fared as well over the same time period. As recently as 1996, it was estimated that there were 16 900 Grauer's gorillas in eastern DRC (Hall et al. 1998), but the civil war that has raged since 1998 has resulted in major declines in some areas (for example, in parts of their range in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park). Much of the decline is due to hunting for bushmeat by rebel groups and by people mining for gold, diamonds, and coltan (columbo-tantalite), a substance used in computer chips and cellular phones.

Chimpanzees are found in many of the Albertine Rift forests, yet quite a number of their populations are small and unlikely to be viable in the long term unless corridors among protected areas are maintained. They are probably one of the most important seed dispersers in a forest and, as such, their loss could seriously affect forest composition. In addition to chimps, the Albertine Rift is rich in other primate species, including at least 27 recorded thus far. Fortunately, primate hunting is rare in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, meaning that these animals are not as threatened here as in the DRC and West Africa, and are, therefore, usually easy to see where they occur. As such, they provide great potential for tourism in the region. Mountain gorilla and to some extent chimpanzee tourism have become popular, but the marketing of primate tourism for other monkeys should be given more emphasis. Both l'Hoest's (Cercopithecus lhoesti) and owl-faced guenons (C. hamlyni) are charismatic species, as is the golden monkey, (C. mitis kandti, EN), a beautiful guenon with a soot-black coat and golden-orange mantle across its back and head, and which is now confined to the Virunga Volcanoes and part of Nyungwe Park.

The Ruwenzori duiker (Cephalophus rubidus, EN), sometimes considered a subspecies of the black-fronted duiker (C. nigrifrons), is restricted to the mountains after which it takes its name, where it occurs at high elevations, commonly in Hagenia woodland. At the other end of the size scale is the Ruwenzori otter shrew (Micropotamogale ruwenzorii, EN), one of only three representatives of the family Tenrecidae found on the African mainland, a family that is otherwise restricted entirely to Madagascar. The Ruwenzori otter shrew is an aquatic species, frequenting montane and lowland streams. Its closest relative, the Mount Nimba otter shrew (M. lamottei), is found in similar habitats in the vicinity of Mt. Nimba in the Guinean Forests of West Africa Hotspot.

Of the birds present in the Albertine Rift, the Rwenzori turaco (Musophaga johnstoni) is probably the most stunning of the endemic species, with its mantle of iridescent green, orange-yellow cheeks, blue back and tail, and bright red primary feathers. Found in 10 forest islands of the Albertine Rift, this species is a good flagship for the montane forests. The beautiful, bright green African green broadbill (Pseudocalyptomena graueri, VU), with its grey-blue throat, is the sole representative of an endemic genus, and is confined to only three sites within the Rift. Grauer's rush warbler (Bradypterus graueri, EN), while not the most visually exciting, is a good flagship species for isolated mountain swamps. This species is confined to small patches of swamp above 2 000 m and occurs in small populations separated from each other by large distances. There are several endemic sunbird species —the regal sunbird (Cinnyris regia), Rockefeller's sunbird (Nectarinia rockefelleri, VU), Rwenzori double-collared sunbird or Stuhlmann's sunbird (Cinnyris stuhlmanni), blue-headed sunbird (Cyanomitra alinae), and purple-breasted sunbird (Nectarinia purpureiventris)—, and all serve as excellent flagship species, with their brilliant coloration and presence in most of the Albertine Rift forests.

Of the reptiles, the chameleons are the best flagship species. Five species are endemic to the Albertine Rift, including the Rwenzori three-horned chameleon (Chamaeleo johnstoni), which reaches a length of 30 cm and is found in many of the montane forests of the Albertine Rift. The three horns on its head make it look like a miniature Triceratops, and are used by males to fight over females. The strange-horned chameleon (Bradypodion xenorhinus) is similar in size, but has a circular protuberence on the end of its nose. This species is confined to the Rwenzori Mountains, where it is very rare, having been overcollected for the wildlife trade.

With a wingspan of 24 cm, the African giant swallowtail (Papilio antimachus) is the continent's largest butterfly and is found at many sites in the Albertine Rift. Three large, conspicuous, yet rare swallowtail butterflies (P. leucotaenia, P. ufipa, and Graphium gudenusi) serve as important invertebrate flagships, particularly because they can help bring attention to those protected areas where there are fewer of the larger vertebrate flagships.

Finally, the plant genus Impatiens, with 18 endemic species, comprises important flagships, as species from this genus have prominent flowers of various shades of white, pink, and red, and are found in the forest understory. The genus is widespread and is much favored by duikers for food.

Threats

The Albertine Rift has some of the highest human population densities on the African Continent, with up to 750 people per square kilometer in Rwanda and southwest Uganda. Much of the land in this region has been converted to agriculture, and the average family size is 6–10 people. As a result, the pressures on the remaining natural vegetation in this region are enormous, since the further subdivision of land by families for their children is impossible and the demand for more land is intense. Many of the protected areas are fragments or islands in a sea of humanity, with marked borders between forest and cultivation. These islands suffer from edge effects due to the abrupt changes in microclimate and from human use of the forest edges. People in this region are also among the poorest in Africa and rely to a great extent on the environment for their livelihoods. Forests provide these people with necessary materials such as rope, bean stakes, firewood, timber, medicines, fruit, bushmeat, and honey. Fire is also a threat in some regions, such as on the Ufipa Plateau, where the last remnant of Congolian forest, Mbizi, is under serious threat from fire. The peculiar nature of this type of forest-grassland mosaic and the geographic relief on which it sits, mean that there are exposed hill ridges and radiating peninsular extensions of forest that stretch along the valleys. These rapidly become isolated by fire and thus more accessible to human disturbance (Davenport 2002).

A crude estimate can be made of the amount of natural habitat remaining based on the area remaining as protected habitat (11.8%; see below) and the authors' knowledge of zones outside these protected areas. Based on this, it is likely that no more than 20% of the habitat can be described as “intact,” while a further 25%–30% is degraded but still relatively natural. An analysis of forest change over the past 15 years using satellite images shows that over 1 500 km² has been lost to agricultural production in the forested areas of the Albertine Rift (Plumptre et al. 2003a). This is 0.5% of the area of the Albertine Rift and 2.2% of its forested area. Much of this loss has occurred outside protected areas. In spite of the fact that there is little support for protection, many forests survive simply because they have some protected status. However, the remaining protected areas are experiencing a degradation of the habitat, and forest use within protected areas has often increased during times of insecurity. For instance, the mahogany trees that had been managed relatively carefully in Uganda since the 1930s have been felled in the past 20 years because of corrupt practices and the inability of the forestry staff to control illegal activities. As a result, many species that require undisturbed habitat are now confined to a few small patches within the forest reserves and parks.

The trade in bushmeat is not as developed as in the Congo Basin, but is probably increasing. There is some indirect evidence that soldiers are returning from the Congo to Rwanda and Uganda with a taste for bushmeat. Poaching in the savanna parks in Uganda and the DRC is high at present with hippos, buffalos, and the larger antelope species being targeted. Snares are also set in forests and lead to death or injury of many species. For example, in the forests of Uganda, 25% of all chimpanzees have maimed limbs or are missing hands or feet as a result of snare injuries (Plumptre et al. 2003b). Hunters are mainly after duikers and bushpigs in the forests. Primates tend to be targeted in the DRC and around Rwenzori Mountains National Park. Most hunting in Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi is through the use of snares or by driving prey into nets with dogs. In the DRC there is more reliance on the use of guns, especially with the proliferation of AK-47 assault rifles during the civil war there.

Insecurity and civil strife in the Great Lakes region has led to the degradation and loss of protected areas. Militia groups have hidden in protected areas and used them to launch attacks on the nearby inhabitants. Thus, protected areas have not been viewed favorably by the local communities living adjacent to them. On the other hand, forests have been places to which the local people could flee during conflict, so attitudes vary across the region depending on how protected areas were used. Several protected areas have been lost or reduced in size as a result of the wars, particularly in Rwanda and Uganda. However, where conservation groups maintained some support or presence on the ground, protected areas have generally survived intact. The greatest losses from these wars have been trained protected-area staff. More than 100 staff members were killed in the protected areas in eastern DRC in the last six years. Similarly, about a third of the staff working with the gorillas in Rwanda were killed between 1990 and 1999. These losses have rarely been documented, and little support has been provided to their families because it has always happened at a time when funding was limited and needs were great. Sometimes civil wars or insecurity can help protected areas because they prevent people from entering these areas to carry out illegal activities. It has been clear that the forests in Uganda suffered most as the economy started to grow after the wars and the demand for timber for reconstruction grew with it.

Conservation

Currently, about 37 000 km² of the Albertine Rift is protected in parks, wildlife-game reserves and forest reserves, representing about 11.8% of the total area of the Albertine Rift. Many of the protected areas are concentrated in the north of the region, while fewer in number and also in total area occur in southeastern DRC and southwest Tanzania. The largest protected area in the region is Virunga National Park (8 000 km²), which was established in 1925; it links the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda with Queen Elizabeth, Rwenzori Mountains, and Semuliki National Parks in Uganda to form a much larger landscape of protected areas, the Greater Virunga Landscape, which totals 12 800 km². A priority-setting exercise evaluating sites in the Albertine Rift based upon total species richness and number of endemic and threatened species identified Virunga National Park, Itombwe Massif (unprotected as yet), and Kahuzi-Biega National Park (6 000 km²), in the DRC; Semuliki (219 km²), Kibale (766 km²), and Bwindi Impenetrable (331 km²) National Parks in Uganda; and Nyungwe National Park (980 km²) in Rwanda as the most important of the terrestrial sites for conservation. Lake Tanganyika was also identified for freshwater conservation. Additional areas with many endemic and threatened species but fewer total species were Rwenzori Mountains National Park (996 km²) and Echuya (34 km²) and Kasyoha-kitomi (399 km²) Forest Reserves in Uganda; Kibira National Park (379 km²) in Burundi; Mt. Kabobo in the DRC (unprotected as yet); and Lakes Edward and George (Plumptre et al. 2003a).

Several protected areas are World Heritage Sites—Virunga, Rwenzori Mountains, Bwindi Impenetrable, Kahuzi-Biega National Parks— or Biosphere Reserves—Queen Elizabeth National Park (2 230 km²), with proposals currently to expand Virunga Park to include all the Virunga Volcanoes region, namely Mgahinga Gorilla Park (42 km²) in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park (150 km²) in Rwanda and their mountain gorillas under the World Heritage Site listing.

The Albertine Rift has recently become a focus of several conservation NGOs, in large part because of its high vertebrate diversity. Since 2001, a process, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, to develop a strategic framework for conservation and joint planning for protected areas has been implemented to bring together NGOs, protected area authorities, and government ministries in each country. Within this framework, there is a strong emphasis on involving local communities in the management of protected areas. Uganda, in particular, has been pioneering approaches to conservation that involve the communities adjacent to protected areas. Each park or wildlife reserve has a community conservation warden who holds regular meetings with the local villagers. There is a process of sharing revenue from tourists with these communities, and currently 20% of all gate receipts are put in a fund for community use (provided it is compatible with conservation).

Several protected areas in Uganda and the DRC are contiguous with one another or linked across international boundaries, thus increasing their conservation significance. The International Gorilla Conservation Programme, a coalition formed in 1991 comprising the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna and Flora International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been very successful in encouraging coordination and joint management among Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC in the Virunga Volcanoes and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks, even when these countries were at war. Their model has been replicated by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) further north, to include all the contiguous protected areas linked to the Virunga National Park. This “Greater Virunga Landscape” contains more vertebrates than any other single set of contiguous protected areas in Africa (Plumptre et al. 2003a). While many protected areas are islands, the natural habitat in eastern DRC (forest and woodland) and in western Tanzania (woodland) is more intact, and it is still feasible to manage natural habitat as corridors to link protected areas. There are possibilities of expanding Mahale Mountains National Park to include other areas of importance along Lake Tanganyika and to the east. Similarly, it may be possible to set up linkages between Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Maiko to the north and Itombwe to the south, provided land uses in between are compatible with nature conservation. Conservation International, WWF, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (International and Europe), WCS and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) are all working in this region to conserve biodiversity and to maintain linkages that exist. Much of the work in this region is supported by the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, which was launched in September of 2002, and is an association of 29 governmental agencies and NGOs working to promote sustainable management of Congo Basin Forest ecosystems and wildlife, as well as to improve the lives of people living there. In Uganda and Tanzania, the World Bank and UNDP-GEF and the European Union are supporting much of the conservation of Rift sites. Managing these areas as larger landscapes will increase the likelihood of their long-term survival, whereas leaving them as islands means accepting the loss of certain species, particularly large mammals.

As peace comes to the DRC, the pressures on the natural habitat will multiply. Logging and mining companies are already lining up to obtain concessions. There is a real need to identify which remaining sites deserve to be protected before they are lost to logging, mining or agriculture. Itombwe Massif is a clear leading contender for protected area status while, further south, additional survey work could yet reveal that Mt. Kabobo and the Marungu Massif require protection. The Tayna Community Reserve to the west of Lake Edward is also partially established, but needs biological surveys to determine its richness.

What we know already of the Albertine Rift indicates that it is very important in terms of vertebrate conservation, and yet much of it is still poorly known. Botanically, it may not be as rich as other sites in the world, but again there is a great need for more survey work, particularly of herbaceous plants and ferns. Conservation efforts in this region have to try to balance the pressing human requirements and poverty with the needs of the wildlife in the ever-shrinking natural habitat of this region. Many protected areas alone are just too small to conserve viable populations of the megafauna that still survive here. There is a need to maintain the linkages between protected areas where they still exist if the larger vertebrates are to survive in the long term. It will be harder to lobby for the conservation of these protected areas if these charismatic megafauna are lost in a region where human population density and poverty are so high, and their conservation is a top priority.

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