Viphya Mountains

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Viphya Mountains
Highest peak Mount Uzumara ( 1943  m )
location Malawi
Viphya Mountains (Malawi)
Viphya Mountains
Coordinates 11 ° 40 ′  S , 33 ° 54 ′  E Coordinates: 11 ° 40 ′  S , 33 ° 54 ′  E
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The Viphya Mountains are a 209 km long hilly mountain range in the north of Malawi . The Viphya Plateau , on which the Viphya Forest is also located, is part of this landscape.

geography

The mountain range extends in the Northern Region from the valley of the Dwambasi River in a north-northeast direction to the valley of the South Rukuru at the foot of the Nyika plateau . The altitudes between 1500 and 1800 m are only interrupted in the northern third of the highlands by a saddle 24 km wide and 1200 m high, on which the third largest city of Malawi, Mzuzu is located. The highest mountain of the ridge, Mount Uzumara ( 1943  m , ⊙ ), is located in the northern part of the Viphya Mountains, while the southern part ends with Mount Champhila ( 1820  m , ⊙ ). To the west, the Viphya Mountains are bounded by part of the fold of the Malawi Rift , which runs to the north , while the eastern part is ruggedly rugged and ends at Lake Malawi .

nature

The hilly highlands mainly consist of a grassy landscape, which is interspersed with small areas of primary forests . The second largest plateau of Malawi, the 90 km long and up to 20 km wide Viphya Plateau , is an exception . The largest human-made forest, the Viphya Forest, was planted on the plateau . Alien pines mainly determine the picture, but eucalyptus trees are also part of the artificial planting. The forest was originally planted in 1964 for cellulose production . However, economic difficulties prevented the project.

The degree of endemic plants in the grasslands typical of the area is higher than in the existing forest areas. About 6000 plant species are documented in Malawi, the exact number is not known and one can assume a much greater biodiversity. How many different plant species occur in the Viphya Mountains is also not known.

In 1958, and thus quite early, 156,000 hectares of the forest of the Viphya mountain landscape were placed under protection. However, the lack of enforcement of protection has already damaged parts of the landscape.

  • Pine forest in the Viphya Mountains

  • Natural forest in the Viphya highlands

Economic use

Due to the artificial construction of the pine forest plantation on the Viphya plateau, a modest timber industry has developed over the years . In 2004, for example, a sawmill in Chikangawa produced 13,000 m³ of sawn timber and 15,000 m³ of wood for paneling . Charcoal is also produced in the area . The government plans to use waste wood as biomass to generate electricity. For this purpose, 53,000 hectares of pine forest have already been released for management. However, uncontrolled deforestation, clearing to use the wood of the forest as simple firewood, deforestation for land cultivation and a large number of forest fires have already caused extreme damage to the forest.

Cassava (manioc) and up to 24 different varieties of Irish Potatos , as the potato is called in Malawi, are grown in all areas of the highlands . In the southern part of the highlands there is increased cultivation of maize and tobacco , while coffee is grown in the mountains north of Mzuzu and the eastern slopes towards Lake Malawi are used as tea plantations . Parts of the northern Viphya Mountains, on the other hand, are used by the military as training grounds.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Viphya Mountains - Encyclopædia Britannica - (accessed December 15, 2009)
  2. ↑ Malawi Guide , UNDP, Lilongwe, Malawi, 2005
  3. ^ A b Environmental and Social Management Framework , Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development, Malawi, Lilongwe, March 2007.
  4. ↑ An overview of forest industry in eastern and southern Africa FAO - Forestry Department - (accessed December 15, 2009)
  5. ↑ a b National Biodiversity, Strategy and Action Plan. Environmental Affairs Department, Lilongwe, October 2006, ISBN 99908-26-54-9 .
  6. ↑ Protected Areas: Their Role and Future in Malawi's Land Budget , Inter-Agency Working Group on Protected Areas, Lilongwe, August 1997
  7. ↑ Malawi: Bank Group Assistance to the Transport Sector , African Development Bank Group, Tunisia, January 2004.
  8. ↑ Policy Analysis Initiative: Environment and Natural Resources Sector , Malawi Government, Lilongwe, 2002.
  9. ↑ Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic - Encyclopedia of Earth - (accessed December 15, 2009)