Mountain forests in the Western Rift
The mountain forests in the Western Rift , an ecoregion of the tropical rainforest biome , lie in the heart of the afromontane tropical Africa .
Location and description
The high mountain forests cover the western parts of Rwanda and Burundi , the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and parts of western Uganda and Tanzania . This area comprises the Western Rift Mountains that enclose the western range of the East African Rift . The mountain ranges include the Lendu Plateau in Uganda (even if the forest here has been almost completely cleared), the Virunga volcanoes and the Rwenzori Mountains . On the highest elevations of the Rwenzori and Virunga mountain ranges (over 3000 meters), the forests merge into the Afro-Alpine ecoregion of the Rwenzori-Virunga mountain moorland , including the peaks of the Stanley Mountains and the Karisimbi . However, the highest point in Burundi, Mont Heha , is in this ecoregion.
Flora and fauna
The mountain rainforests , cloud forests and cloud forests of this ecoregion have a cooler climate than the Congolese lowland forests or the savannahs of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, and are therefore home to a rich variety of Afromontan flora and especially fauna. The rare mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) survives only in this ecoregion, as well as the Eastern Beard monkey and a subspecies of Hamlyn's monkey and many species of birds, including the Lenduschnäpper , the Rwenzori Turaco and Sperber breast singer . The mountain forests are a hot spot for biodiversity, around 20 percent of Africa's amphibians are found here, including many reed frogs such as Hyperolius castaneus or the believed to be lost Hyperolius sankuruensis .
Threats and Protection
A large part of the forest has already been cleared for agriculture and deforestation, especially in the densely populated countries of Rwanda and Burundi, but large parts of the forest still remain in forest nature reserves and at higher elevations in mountain ranges, including Virunga , Itombwe and Ruwenzori . The clearing of the forest takes place continuously and is a major threat to the environmental situation in the region. The violent recent history has also damaged the ecological balance, and for example almost eliminated the elephant population in Virunga National Park in the Congo.
Like Virunga, the ecoregion also includes Rwenzori Mountains National Park , Bwindi Impenetrable National Park , Kibale National Park and Volcano National Park in Uganda.
Cities
The built-up areas in the region include:
- in Uganda - the city of Fort Portal , starting point for chimpanzee observation in
Kibale National Park.
- in Rwanda - Ruhengeri (near the volcano national park ), and the cities of Gisenyi , Kibuye (for boat trips to the island of Napoleon in the lake), and Cyangugu , a starting point for primate observation in the Nyungwe forest on Lake Kiwu .
- in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - the cities on
Kiwu Lake Goma across from Gisenyi and the starting point for visiting Virunga and Bukavu National Park across from Cyangugu and near Kahuzi-Biéga National Park , which is home to mountain gorillas but is threatened due to the conflict in the region (see Second Congo War ).
- in Burundi - the northwestern cities of Cibitoke and the flood-damaged Bubanza , and the southern city of Bururi , where the Bururi forest reserve preserves some of the Afro-montane forest.
activities
Popular activities include:
- Gorilla watching in Virunga National Park, or in the volcano national park in Rwanda (formerly the starting point of the zoologist Dian Fossey ).
- Trekking in the Ruwenzori Mountains.