Review of the Protected Areas System in the Afrotropical Realm REVIEW OF THE PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEM IN THE AFROTROPICAL REALM Prepared by the INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION ON NATIONAL PARKS AND PROTECTED AREAS in collaboration with the UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME John and Kathy MacKinnon Consultants December 1986 Published by: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. Prepared and published in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP . A contribution to GEMS the Global Environment Monitoring System. Copyright: © 1986 United Nations Environment Programme/International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ISBN: 2 88032 609 5 Cover design: James Butler Cover photo: The wide range of Africa's biological diversity is reflected in this view of glacier clad Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, as seen from the savanna zone of Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Photo credit: IUCN/Thorsell Printed by: Stephen Austin & Sons Ltd. Hertford, England. Available from: IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 oDL, UK or IUCN Publications Services, Avenue du Mont Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland The designations of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. ii CONTENTS FOREWORD vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vii RESUME xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xvii Part One—INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Objectives and Criteria of Protected Areas 3 1.2 Aims and Scope of the Present Review 6 1.3 Biogeography Theory and Protected Areas System Design 6 1.4 Methods and Approach of Review 11 Part Two—THE AFROTROPICAL REALM 2.1 Physical Limits 17 2.2 Geological and Biogeographical History 17 2.3 Geography and Physiography 21 2.4 Climate and Vegetation 22 2.5 Floral Characteristics 25 2.6 Faunal Characteristics 25 2.7 Biogeographical Divisions of the Afrotropical Realm 26 2.8 History of Man in Africa 31 2.9 Patterns of Land Change 31 2.10 Subsistence Hunting and Poaching 32 2.11 Desertification 33 2.12 Summary Overview 33 Part Three—COVERAGE BY BIOGEOGRAPHIC UNITS 3.1 Guineo-Congolian Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit I) 37 3.2 Zambezian Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit II) 47 3.3 Sudanian Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit III) 58 3.4 Somali-Masai Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit IV) 66 3.5 Cape Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit V) 74 3.6 Karoo-Namib Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit VI) 78 3.7 Afromontane Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit VIII) 82 3.8 Guinea-Congolia/Zambezian Regional Transition Zone (Unit X) 92 3.9 Guinea-Congolia/Sudania Regional Transition Zone (Unit XI) 96 3.10 Lake Victoria Regional Mosaic (Unit XII) 101 3.11 Zanzibar-Inhambane Regional Mosaic (Unit XIII) 106 3.12 Kalahari-Highvel d Regiona l Transitio n Zon e (Uni t XIV) 111 3.13 Tongaland-Pondoland Regional Mosaic (Unit XV) 116 3.14 Sahel Regional Transition Zone (Unit XVI) 121 3.15 East Malagasy Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit XIX) 126 3.16 West Malagasy Regional Centre of Endemism (Unit XX) 132 3.17 Offshore Islands (Unit XXI) 138 3.18 Overview of Phytochorion Needs for Conservation 143 Part Four—GENERAL CONSERVATION ISSUES 4.1 Desertification 147 iii CONTENTS 4.2 Wetlands 148 4.3 Tsetse Control 153 4.4 Rhinoceros Poaching 154 4.5 The Protection of Critical Habitats 155 4.6 Species Conservation Needs 156 4.7 Species Coverage by Reserves 168 4.8 Protected Areas as Refuges for Elephants 176 Part Five—COUNTRY ACTION REQUIREMENTS 187 BIBLIOGRAPHY MAPS (in separate wallet) 3.1 Vegetation and Protected Areas of West Africa 3.2 Vegetation and Protected Areas of Central Africa 3.3 Vegetation and Protected Areas of East Africa 3.4 Vegetation and Protected Areas of Southern Africa 3.5 Vegetation and Protected Areas of Madagascar iv COUNTRIES OF THE AFROTROPICAL REALM with abbreviations used in the tables AN Angola BN Benin BT Botswana BF Burkina Faso BR Burundi CM Cameroon CR Central African Republic CH Chad (part) CO Comoros CN Congo DJ Djibouti EG Equatorial Guinea ET Ethiopia GA Gabon GM Gambia GH Ghana GU Guinea GB Guinea Bissau IC Ivory Coast KY Kenya LE Lesotho LB Liberia MD Madagascar MW Malawi ML Mali (part) MR Mauritania (part) MA Mauritius MZ Mozambique NM Namibia NG Niger (part) NI Nigeria RE Reunion RW Rwanda SP São Tomé and Principe SN Senegal SY Seychelles SL Sierra Leone SM Somalia SA South Africa SC South Yemen (Socotra) SH St Helena SD Sudan (part) SW Swaziland TZ Tanzania TG Togo UG Uganda ZR Zaire ZM Zambia ZW Zimbabwe v Foreword The 1985 UN List of National Parks and Protected Areas notes that there are over 88 million ha of land included in 426 protected areas in the Afrotropical Realm. This amounts to 4.4% of the area of the realm. Virtually every African country has established protected areas as a tool for conservation and development and it has been estimated that African Governments spend US$150 million annually on managing these areas and the species they contain. A substantial investment in land area and in funds thus already exists. We know, however, that much of the protected area system is under stress, that additional resources need to be devoted to allow more effective management, and that there are still additional areas that merit protected status. Therefore, at the working session of IUCN's Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in May 1983, it was decided that a broad review of the protected area system needed to be undertaken based on the work carried out by Hugh Lamprey for the 1974 IUCN meeting in Serengeti. The essential issues addressed are (1) how effective is the current coverage of protected areas in sub-Saharan Africa, and (2) where and how many more areas need to be established to ensure that samples of all Africa's biological diversity can be maintained. In undertaking a large scale review it is accepted that such a broad-brush treatment may result in over-generalisation and not every region will be treated equally. But it is hoped that this total realm survey will stimulate action at the national level. IUCN and UNEP will now promote national reviews of protected areas which will allow finer resolution and more detailed responses to the above issues. We are certain that this review will be useful both in providing a continental overview as well as outlining a methodology based on the emerging field of conservation science. The results will also be of interest to those currently seeking means to focus support on priority areas and to ensure that inappropriate developments will not affect those key biophysical resources of the Continent that will assist in ensuring a sustainable future. Reuben Olembo, Director Walter Lusigi (Kenya) Environmental Management CNPPA Vice-Chairman UNEP Afrotropical Realm December 1986 vi Executive Summary 1 INTRODUCTION Traditionally African reserves and parks have been created to protect spectacular species or large concentrations of game. As a consequence many of Africa's finest parks protect vast areas of savanna grasslands while other, often biologically richer, habitats are poorly represented within the protected area network. This review was commissioned by the Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas of IUCN to determine how adequate was the existing system of protected areas of the Afrotropical Realm in terms of biogeographical coverage, coverage of major vegetation types and in affording protection to centres of biological richness and species endemism. The UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO vegetation map of Africa was used as the basis of the review. The major phytochoria described by White (1983) have been used as the major biogeographic divisions and within each unit the review considers the extent and adequacy of protected area coverage of the main vegetation types. The review concentrates on the terrestrial reserve system and for practical reasons we have considered only protected areas larger than 5000 ha on mainland Africa and over 2000 ha on Madagascar and the offshore islands. Small reserves, particularly on islands, may serve a useful conservation role in preserving rare and endemic species but we were concerned primarily with the larger picture of which biogeographical units and habitats within the Afrotropical Realm were adequately protected and which need greater protection. 2 THE AFROTROPICAL REALM In this review the Afrotropical Realm is taken to be the whole of Africa south of the Sahara together with the island continent of Madagascar, the southern tip of Yemen and the island of Socotra, the offshore islands of the Gulf of Guinea and the oceanic islands of the western Indian Ocean (Mascarenes, Comoros, Aldabra and Seychelles). The northern boundary of phytochorion XVI – the Sahel Regional Transition Zone – has been taken as the northernmost limit of the Realm. Africa is an ancient and arid continent with a highly distinct flora and fauna. Compared with Indo- Malaya and the Neotropics, Africa can be regarded as somewhat impoverished in flora and some animal groups, but it has the most varied mammal fauna of all the tropical realms, with 38 families excluding bats. Analyses of data on flora, birds and mammal distributions have revealed several areas of high species richness and endemism. Africa was the cradle of human evolution and, although the continent today is still not as densely populated overall as many other tropical regions, Man has had a long and dramtic effect on the African landscape. Fire, clearance of forest for agriculture and grazing of stock have all made an impact on the environment and much of the continent's natural habitat and wildlife have been affected by the activities of men and their livestock.