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TZ054
Handeni District Coastal Forests
Location Tanzania, Tanga
Central coordinates 38o 30.00' East  5o 30.00' South
IBA criteria A1, A2, A3
Area 3,214 ha
Altitude 80 - 545m
Year of IBA assessment 2001

Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania



Ornithological information See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. To date, a total of 57 species including Tauraco fischeri, Anthreptes reichenowi, Phyllastrephus fischeri and Erythrocercus holochlorus have been recorded. Circaetus fasciolatus has recently been recorded from the Gendagenda area. All the typical coastal forest species that are known from nearby Msumbugwe Forest Reserve (TZ056) can be expected at this site. Zoothera guttata is likely to occur on passage.

Site description Handeni District lies inland of Pangani District (TZ056). It runs west a further 120 km to the Nguu mountains (TZ060) and is one of the few districts to contain both coastal and montane forest. Inland of the coastal lowlands the land rises gradually and becomes dryer, forest giving way to woodland. Six Forest Reserves in Handeni District have affinities with coastal forest habitat: Gendagenda North (1,295 ha), Gendagenda South (1,919 ha), Bondo (328 ha), Mtunguru (2,305 ha), Kwasumba (2,933 ha) and Magambazi (750 ha). Of these, only the two Gendagenda forests have been investigated for birds and are included in the IBA.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Southern Banded Snake-eagle Circaetus fasciolatus resident  2000  present [units unknown]  -  A1, A3  Near Threatened 
Brown-headed Parrot Poicephalus cryptoxanthus resident  2000  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Fischer's Turaco Tauraco fischeri resident  2000  present [units unknown]  -  A1, A2, A3  Near Threatened 
Pale-billed Hornbill Tockus pallidirostris resident  2000  -  -    Least Concern 
African Green-tinkerbird Pogoniulus simplex resident  2000  unknown [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Brown-breasted Barbet Lybius melanopterus resident  2000  unknown [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Mombasa Woodpecker Campethera mombassica resident  2000  unknown [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Four-coloured Bush-shrike Telophorus quadricolor resident  2000  unknown [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Yellow Flycatcher Erythrocercus holochlorus resident  2000  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Miombo Wren-warbler Camaroptera undosa resident  2000  -  -    Least Concern 
Fischer's Greenbul Phyllastrephus fischeri resident  2000  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Black-bellied Glossy-starling Lamprotornis corruscus resident  2000  unknown [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Kurrichane Thrush Turdus libonyanus resident  2000  -  -    Least Concern 
Plain-backed Sunbird Anthreptes reichenowi resident  2000  present [units unknown]  -  A1, A3  Near Threatened 

Protected areas

Protected area Designation Area (ha) Relationship with IBA Overlap with IBA (ha)  
Garafuno Forest Reserve 28,879 protected area overlaps with site 94  
South Gendagenda Forest Reserve 3,231 protected area contains site 3,214  

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Shrubland   1%
Forest   98%

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
agriculture -
forestry -
water management -

Other biodiversity Clarke and Stubblefield (1995) list 26 mammal species, three forest-dependent reptiles, nine amphibians and three near-endemic plants.

Management considerations Although large areas are sparsely populated, shifting cultivation is reducing forest and woodland to scrub and secondary growth. All the usual problems of timber removal, pole-cutting, fire, agricultural encroachment and hunting are occurring. Persistent burning is encroaching on remaining forest and preventing forest regeneration outside reserves. Gendagenda faces more intensive human use than many other coastal forests and may become degraded beyond repair in the near future. Consideration should be given to creating fuelwood plantations away from, but within walking distance of, Gendagenda Forest Reserve.

References Clarke and Stubblefield (1995), Fottland (1996), Hawthorn (1984).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Handeni District Coastal Forests. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013

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