The conservation of the forest resources of eastern Africa: past influences, present practices and future needs - Biogeography and Ecology of the Rain Forests of Eastern Africa - page 285

Such pattens contrast with more recent col-
onisers of mountain land, such as the Waluguru
people who moved into the hill forests less than
200 years ago to escape land arguments on the
plains (Young & Fosbrooke, 1960; Temple,
1972). Here land ownership is vested in the clan
and ile to individual plots changes frequently.
Thus there is little or no invesment in permanent
crops, irrigaion or ani-erosion works.
Pattens were different in the coastal lowlands
where communiies may have been more mobile,
the Wangoni and Wasegeju being immediate
examples of people who have undertaken major
movements in the 1800s. This would have led to
culivaion practices with longer fallow periods
and involved considerable forest/thicket clearing
(Kjekshus, 1977). Gum copal commerce and the
development of coconut plantaions grew rapidly
in the early 1800s and much forest would have
been cut as a consequence (Rodgers, 1992).
Forest land did have significance in people's
lives, exemplified by the many sacred forest
patches or kayas of South Kenya (Oxford Univer-
siy, 1981; Hawthone, Chapter 5), and smaller
groves sill visible near Dar es Salaam and
elsewhere. Much has been written about the
major role of forest wildlife in people's diets in
West Arica (e.g. Marin, 1983); ar less is written
about such relaionships in East Africa. Forests
are sources of bush meat (e.g. duiker and other
small antelope, pig, cane rat, hyrax, birds, etc.),
and huning is sill widespread (e.g. Kelsey &
Langton (1984) for present-day pracices in
Arabuko-Sokoke forest in north coastal Kenya,
and Alpers (1975) for past pracice in South
Tanzania). The Wahehe people of the Uzungwa
Mountains are less conservaive than most East
African people in their diet, and eat a wide variety
of orest animals: crabs, snakes, honbills, hyrax,
duiker, black-and-white colobus and blue
monkey (W.A.R., personal observaions). Tribal
and lcal social actors are of great importance in
determining dietary habits, and hence huning
pressures. Fleuret (1979, 1980) discusses the
importance of wild plants in people's lives in West
Usambaras. Forest trees may provide significant
famine foods, such as Parinai excelsa in the
Usambaras J. C. Lovett, personal communicaion).

Fo rest land use in colonial times: the Geman
period

With the arrival of German colonialism at the end
of the 19th century a relaively stable patten of
land use changed. Human populaion numbers
probably decreased, and shifing cultivaion in
denser thicket increased at the epense of semi-
permanent settlement (Kjekshus, 1977). Rodgers
(1975) described the Wangindo people in south
coastal Tanzania as leaving large valley settle-
ments and moving deeper into less ferile forested
land on upper slopes and plateaux to escape from
German pressures. Much montane arable land
within the natural forest was alienated by the new
settlers and local people would have changed their
settlement patterns accordingly, e.g. the Chagga
moving higher up Mount Kilimanjaro.
Many orest products were used by the Ger-
mans in commerce, e.g. wild rubber (Lanolphia
and Saba species), and indigenous imber was
eported. Communicaions, and the siing of
towns and missions in climaically preferable,
highland forest areas (e.g. Lushoto and Amani in
the Usambaras; Moningside, Bwakira and
Bunduki in the Ulugurus; Kisarawe in the Pugu
Hills) led to greater pressure on these forest
lands.
On the other hand, the early colonists were well
aware of the importance of forested catchments
for water supplies. Schnabel (1990) details the
early history of German forestry in Tanzania. The
first forester appointed in 1892 led to a full
Deparment of Forestry and Wildlife by 1912.
Volkens (1897) and Siebenlist (1914) sressed the
need for forest reservaion and even reafforesta -
ion in German East Africa. Hitchins (1907) did
the same or Kenya. The Germans did insigate
policies of forest reservaion for water and for the
conrol of imber cuting (Anon., 1902). Whilst
several accounts describe the early history of wild-
life conservaion in Tanzania (e.g. Matzke, 1976;
Rodgers & Lobo, 1981), less has been written
about the beginnings of forestry. Hamilton &
Mwasha (1990) give a detailed account of forestry
development in the easten Usambara Mountains.
Schabel (1990) summarises the major German
achievements. By 1914, 231 separate forest