Five pay the price for lighting bush fires at Uluguru reserve
A motorcyclist rides past the Isaka Forest at Mbangayao Village in Ulanga District, Morogoro Region yesterday. Felling of trees for either charcoal or farm preparation is rampant in the area, threatening existence of some rare animal and plant species. PHOTO | JUMA MTANDA
What you need to know:
- Illegal bush fires have been common during the dry season, but authorities are currently taking action against perpetrators in a bid to protect rare animal and plant species, which exist in the reserve.
Morogoro. Five people have been slapped with a fine totalling Sh2,030,000 million with the other being handed a suspended sentence for being involved in lighting fires at the Uluguru Nature Forest Reserve (UNFR) in Morogoro Region.
Illegal bush fires have been common during the dry season, but authorities are currently taking action against perpetrators in a bid to protect rare animal and plant species, which exist in the reserve.
According to recent reports, the rare species at the UNFR may be extinct in a few years’ time if appropriate measures are not taken to control the bush fires.
Speaking exclusively to The Citizen on Tuesday in Morogoro, the UNFR Assistant Conservator, Ms Bernadetha Chile said incidents of burning the bushes have been on the rise, thus threatening the existence some plants and living organisms, most of which are found within the UNFR only.
Ms Chile explained that the UNFR has a significant potential in revenue collection via tourism, which has prompted the Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS), through the UNFR, to go an extra mile in the protection of the reserve.
According to the UNFR Assistant Conservator, the Uluguru mountains range is surrounded by various tourist attractions including 134 plant species, four and six kinds of lizards and frogs respectively, some of which cannot be found elsewhere in the world.
For her part, the UNFR’s Officer for Tourism, Ms Zarina Sheweji named some of the tourist attractions, which are exclusively found in the area as Mkimbo plants (Allanblackia ulugurensis), Saintpaulia flowers and panicum lukwangulense.
Ms Sheweji also mentioned rare animals and reptiles, which are found in the reserve, disclosing that there are chameleons with one horn known scientifically as bradypodion oxyrhinum and those with two horns (bradypodion fischeri uluguruensis) while others have three horns. “The Uluguru Nature Forest Reserve is full of amazing creatures. It is also home to rare birds that can never be found anywhere in the world. The creatures that can be found there include the Uluguru bush-shrike bird and Loveidge’s sunbird and a grasshopper with all the colours of Tanzania’s national flag popularly known as the December 9,” said Ms Zarina.
She says the UNFR has 24,115.09 hectares with a 197 kilometre boundary length, bordering Mvomero, Morogoro and Morogoro Rural districts and around 62 villages.
