Wildlife Reserves for Endemic Pemba Species

Rare Scops-Owl, Red-Eyed Dove, Pemba Flying Fox and Sun Birds

Apr 16, 2009 Kate Nivison

Only a narrow strip of sea separates the island of Pemba, from its larger neighbour, Zanzibar Island, but Pemba has its very own endemic species in need of protection.

Pemba is the second largest island of the Zanzibar archipelago, a group of equatorial islands off the East African coast. The largest one, Zanzibar Island (known to its inhabitants as Unguja) has many rare and endangered species, but Pemba, only 30 miles/50 km of open sea from Unguja, has some endemic species and sub-species of both plants and animals that are all its own. There are some serious concerns among conservationist groups that some of these will not survive much longer.

Why Conservationists are Concerned

Much of Pemba’s natural forest was cut down for clove plantations during the last century.
Not long after the Zanzibar archipelago joined with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964, a socialist revolutionary local government allowed farmers to clear most of the remaining forests on the islands.
Systematic destruction of any species regarded as dangerous to humans was actively encouraged.
Pemba is more fertile than Unguja, and most of its people are farmers.
The population has risen by over a third in the last ten years, putting increasing pressure on the remaining natural vegetation.

In the 1990s, alerted to the critical situation, a more enlightened local government policy began to prevail. With the help of international donors such as CARE International, two main conservation sites were set up and support offered for promoting knowledge about the unique species that are part of the whole of archipelago’s natural heritage. These are now self-financing, in that they have to rely on entry fees and donations from visitors. The Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is monitoring the situation through its Red List of Threatened Species.

Kidike Root Site, Pemba

Situated only 10 minutes by taxi from the capital, Chake-Chake, and noted for:

The Pemba Flying Fox (a kind of fruit bat).
Rare birds, such as the Red Eyed Doves, Mangrove Kingfishers
Large Bush Crabs that climb high into the mangroves.

Ngezi Forest Reserve, Pemba

This rare patch of equatorial forest in the south of Pemba Island contains some trees found nowhere else in the world. The Pemba Flying Fox is also found here, along with the much difficult-to-spot tiny blue duiker. Birds are also a feature here.

The Pemba Sun Bird, Pemba White-Eye, Pemba Green Pigeon - all endemic to the island.
The rare Pemba Scops-owl has been listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.

Many of the island’s birds, including the Pemba Scops-owl, used to survive well in Pemba’s many clove plantations, but with the fall in clove prices, many of the clove trees are being cut down and replaced by non-tree crops.

Constant vigilance by conservation agencies will be needed to ensure that Pemba’s unique species have a future in what remains of their natural habitats. Visitors can help by visiting these reserves and supporting initiatives to train local people in conservation.

More about Zanzibar Islands Conservation

The copyright of the article Wildlife Reserves for Endemic Pemba Species in Wildlife Preservation is owned by Kate Nivison. Permission to republish Wildlife Reserves for Endemic Pemba Species in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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