Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains Forests World Heritage Application Status

Last week, Tanzania's application to seek World Heritage Status for the Eastern Arc Forest Mountains was revoked.  In light of recent misgivings regarding the this issue, a group of NGOs joined together to provide some clarification on the processes that have been followed and the intentions behind the nomination.

TRAFFIC, WWF, EAMCEF, CARE, AFRICARE, TFCG, MJUMITA, MCDI, WCST, TNRF provided the following information:

Tanzania’s nomination of the Eastern Arc Mountains Forests as a World Heritage Site has been a fourteen-year process, which has been driven by a desire to enhance the status of an area of Tanzania considered a valuable environmental hotspot that supports the livelihoods of millions of people. 

Inscription on the World Heritage List brings increased international recognition of the importance of the area; assistance in safeguarding the natural heritage of the site; and assistance in encouraging local populations to participate in conserving and benefiting from the natural heritage of the site.  Stone Town and Kilimanjaro National Park are just two examples of the seven World Heritage sites in Tanzania.  The environmental, social and economic benefits this status has brought to these areas has been enormous. 

The proposed Eastern Arc Mountains Forests World Heritage Site is restricted to the Udzungwa Mountains National Park and eight Nature Reserves (Amani, Nilo, Mkingu, Uluguru, Kilombero, Uzungwa Scarp, Magamba and Chome Nature Reserves). These nine protected areas cover 4,516 km2 approximately 20% of the total area of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The forests in this area are already protected under Tanzanian legislation, either as a National Park or as Nature Reserves. The nominated serial application does not include any Forest Reserves or Village Land. 

Earlier this year Tanzania’s application for the Eastern Arc Mountains Forests to be included on the World Heritage List was accepted by the World Heritage Centre and was sent for external evaluation.  The external evaluation is the final step before a nominated site is inscribed on the World Heritage List.  The proposal highlights the significance of the Eastern Arc Mountains Forests as an area of outstanding universal value.   

Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains forests:  

• are fundamental to the livelihoods of the local, forest-dependent communities; 
• include critical watersheds that provide water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use for more than 25 % of Tanzania’s national population including the major cities and towns of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanga, Morogoro, Mpwapwa and Kibaha;  
• are a nationally strategic source of water for generation of more than 60 % of Tanzania’s electricity from the Kidatu, Kihansi, Mtera, Hale, Pangani and Nyumba ya Mungu hydropower plants;   
• play a critical role in protecting the fragile soils in these fertile and mountainous areas 
• thereby enhancing agricultural productivity and production, improving food security and contributing to the livelihoods of the 1.5 million people living immediately adjacent to the area as well as to major plantations such as Kilombero and Mtibwa Sugar Estates and to schemes such as the Government’s Kilimo Kwanza and Feed the Future schemes; 
• are an evolutionary hotspot with over 100 endemic vertebrate species and 500 endemic plant taxa;   
• play an important role in avoiding emissions of greenhouse gases; 
• are an important tourist attraction including the Udzungwa Mountains National Park and the Amani Nature Reserve. 

The process to seek World Heritage Status was first proposed by the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, the Honourable Mrs Zakia Meghji (MP) in 1997.  In 2004, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism launched the Conservation and Management of the Eastern Arc Mountains Forests project with financial support from UNDP / GEF.  An indicator for the success of the project was the inclusion of the Eastern Arc Mountains on the World Heritage List.  There followed five years of awareness raising and detailed stakeholder consultation with community members, local government authorities, private sector and civil society organizations.  The proposal was endorsed by the 5 Regional Commissioners and 15 District Councils whose lands include parts of the Eastern Arc Mountains.   

In 2010 the Nomination Dossier was submitted to UNESCO signed by the Director of Antiquities, the Designated National Authority for the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. 

Tanzania is a signatory to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and with seven current World Heritage sites, it is a clear supporter of this initiative. 

Download a pdf version here.

Learn more at the following: 

Campaign for the Eastern Arc Mountains Forest World Heritage Site  

Tanzanian President nullifies application to grant Eastern Mountains as World Heritage Site