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 307

the ways in which different people value and
exploit these resources. The problems facing con-
servaion have been catalogued and some of the
biological principles governing conservaion dis-
cussed. The stage is now set for the development
of conservaion and management srategies for
the forests. Three strategies will be discussed:
those dealing with people, planning, and manage-
ment inputs. The chapter finishes with discussion
on where conservaion inputs are needed within
the forests of East Africa.
Ulimately a successful conservaion strategy
must have the support of the people at national
and local levels.

an environment in danger! Note that Kilimanjaro
and Meru NPs in Tanzania, and Mount Kenya,
Mount Elgon and The Aberdares NPs are on
volcanic mountain impoverished forests, not really
included in this deiniion of easten Africa.
Tanzania has two Game Reserves covering some
of the less important coastal thicket communities,
Saadani and Selous Game Reserves. Arabuko-
Sokoke in Kenya is now of Naional Nature
Reserve status, and further conservaion areas
eist on the Tana River. The critically important
forest resources of Taita Hills in Kenya, and the
Usambara, Uluguru, Nguru and southen
Uzungwa Mountains are all of Forest Reserve
status, a category which permits considerable
resource eploitaion and manipulation, and
which to date has little invesment in protecion.
Biosphere Reserve status has long been con-
sidered for the Usambaras, but as yet there is no
meaningful proposal to implement such sug-
gesions.
Calls for improved conservaion often ail as no
detailed suggesion as to objectives or boundaries
is given, which could then be more easily followed
up. Frequently conservaion categories are pro-
posed which do not eist in law, and therefore
cannot be implemented.
The suggestion of a 'nature reserve' status for
Amani-Sigi-Kwamkoro forests of the East
Usambaras is an example of this latter point
(Finnmap-Silvesre, 1988). Similar discussion on
'forest parks' delayed conservation acion in
Uganda. However, recently several forest reserves
of great conservaion significance (e.g. Rwenzori
and Impenerable) were declared as National
Parks, much against the wishes of the Forest
Department, which said Parks had no funds or
experise to use them. Howard (1991) gives a
detailed review of conservaion values and plan-
ning. There is no category of Forest Park or
Nature Reserve in Tanzania, and modificaion of
the eising legislaion is a ime-consuming pro-
cess. There may be concern on the part of forest
administraions that declaring a forest area as a
National Park means they lose all control. This is
not necessarily true. National Park status is a legal
category of land use. There is nothing to prevent
the Forest Division administering the area under

Conservaion of natural ecosystems can only be
achieved by a total commiment of society ...
Consevaion cannot come ih excessive
exploitation, or via forced preservation.
(Lugo & Brown, 1984).
These secions thereore stress the human
dimension of conservation in some detail.
Conservaion is a broad-based goal, which
must be broken down into component objecives,
each of which can be aimed at by management
acion. Care must be taken in framing these
objecives, giving attenion to both human and
biological requirements. Conservation will not
come by luck or goodwill: it must be strenuously
planned for and managed towards.
Improving management practice is the third
topic of debate. At present natural catchment for-
ests are little managed and overexploited. This
can change.

The present consevation position

The total inadequacy of the eising conservaion
status is evident from the fact that there is only
one National Park covering the forests of eastern
Tanzania (Uzungwa - gazetted in February
1992!), and only one in the eastern/coastal forests
of Kenya, the Shimba Hills NP, and that with
only a minimal coverage of forest values and a
major objecive to conserve sable and roan ante-
lope in savanna woodland. In 1985 the Commis-
sion or Naional Parks and Protected Areas
(CNPPA) ofIUCN declared the Shimba Hills as