Overview
The Eastern Afromontane Hotspot Mountains are located beside the eastern edge of Africa. It stretches from Saudi Arabia in the north to Zimbabwe in the south. It First acknowledged as internationally significant for species preservation by Mittermeier et al. (2004) when the worldwide hotspot total was raised from twenty- five to thirty- four. It was divided the original Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya Hotspot between two distinct hotspots. They were the Eastern Afromontane and the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa.The Eastern Arc Mountains were therefore developed into a bigger hotspot, meanwhile the Coastal Forests Hotspot stretched into Somalia and Mozambique.
Unique Biodiversity
Albertan Rift has a lot of endemic mammals, birds and amphibians. It has more than any other place in Africa. Large lakes have a lot of freshwater and a wide range of people can be found there. There are nearly seven thousand-six hundred different species of plants in the hotspot. The Albertine Rift is domestic to about fourteen percent of mainland Africa’s plant species. It has more than five hundred and fifty common species. They include three common classes: Afroligusticum, Micractis, Rhaesteria. The Ethiopian Highlands protect an estimated five-thousand two-hundred plant species. The class Senecio is specifically diverse. Half of the two dozen species are found nowhere else.
The Eastern Arc Mountains contain 12 common mammal species. Four species of primates are common to the Eastern Arc Mountains and Southern Rift.The African elephants and leopards found in other parts of Africa are located in the hotspot. One fascinating primates is found here is the endangered mountain gorilla. Another important primate is the chimpanzee.
Human Impacts
The Eastern Afromontane Hotspot is very important to people. It delivers water for vast areas of Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Its islands and widespread plateaus cover over 44 degrees of latitude that are split by the equator. Its unique biodiversity values begin at the wide latitudinal and altitudinal range and the windy geological history. Geographical events have produced an extreme landscape that commands patterns of rainfall in the region and provide altitudinal inclines in ambient temperatures, offering a wide span of climatic and routines that support a variety of biomes and human enterprises.Contained volcanoes have fertile soils on their borders that support strong and beneficial agriculture. For example on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. One of the biggest threats is habitat loss because land is being converted for agriculture, commercial estates, logging, and plantations. In the Eastern Atc Mountains and Southern Rift, huge areas were cleared for commercial estates that grew pine trees, coffee, and tea. Also cattle ranches are a big threat to the hotspot.
Conservation Action
About fifteen percent of the hotspot is under protection. There is only one national park in the Eastern Arc Mountains.
In 2004, the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) provided seven million dollars for
biodiversity research and conservation in the area. The most important of the protected
areas in Ethiopia is the Bale Mountains National Park.Some international conservation organizations in the region are the World Bank, Global Environment Facility-United Nations Development Program, Danish International Development Agency, Finnish International Development Agency (Global Finland), World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation International, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. Some local non-governmental organizations operating in the fields are the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania, Birdlife International and Nature Kenya.
Works Cited
"EASTERN AFROMONTANE BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT." Critical Ecosystem. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane Forests | Fragmented Forests." Eastern Afromontane Forests | Fragmented Forests. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Arc Mountains & Coastal Forests." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Afromontane Forests | Fragmented Forests." Eastern Afromontane Forests | Fragmented Forests. Web. 18 May 2014.
"Eastern Arc Mountains & Coastal Forests." CEPF.net -. Web. 18 May 2014.