Biodiversity and Conservation Along an East African Railway

A Survey of the Dar es Salaam-Makutupora Standard Gauge Railway, Tanzania

Hardback
October 2024
9781800626928
More details
  • Publisher
    CABI
  • ISBN 9781800626928
  • Language English
  • Pages 200 pp.
  • Size 6" x 9"
$130.00

It is well known that infrastructure development projects can boost the economy and reduce the cost of trade in both developing and developed economies, however, infrastructure projects can also cause biodiversity loss.

This book is the result of an important biodiversity survey conducted along an East African railway in Tanzania. The building of the railway, still under construction, has already led to habitat loss, habitat degradation and landscape change which may have affected biodiversity. The book includes recommendations to mitigate the effect of railway construction by protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services which could have major implications across Africa and other regions.

The area covered by the survey focuses on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) running through the Pugu and Ruvu South Forest Reserves towards Maktupora-Dodoma, plus data on large mammals through to Isaka-Shinyanga. The Pugu forests boast high biodiversity of both flora and fauna, some of which are endemic to the area. There are both plant and animal species that are of major conservation concern so there is urgent need to consolidate information to help formulate suitable conservation measures.

The data collected covers plants, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals for terrestrial and aquatic environments along the SGR. This work is timely as there are many more ongoing SGR construction projects in Tanzania and across Africa, as such construction activities inevitably involve some habitat modification and destruction that may have a negative impact on biodiversity.

National and international scientists, decision and policy makers, as well as ecologists and conservation managers involved in large infrastructure projects will find this book invaluable. The book provides baseline information and can be used as a case study for other infrastructure development projects around the world.

1. Book Overview--Catherine Aloyce Masao, Joel Nobert and Flora John Magige
2. Effects of Standard Gauge Railway development on biodiversity and forest conservation: The case study of Pugu Nature Forest Reserve and Ruvu South Forest Reserve in Tanzania--Elikana John, S. Zainabu Bungwa, R. Juma Mwangi and Dos Santos Silayo
3. Wetlands status within the SGR footprint from Dar es Salaam to Makutupora Dodoma--Edmond Alavaisha, Heriel Moshy, Wilrik Ngalasoni, Jasson John and Joel Nobert
4. Floristic structure, Composition, Diversity and Anthropogenic Pressure: The Implications on the Management of Biodiversity along the SGR Segment in Pugu and Ruvu Forest Reserves, Tanzania--Heriel Moshy and Henry Ndangalasi
5. Arthropod assemblages of Pugu-Kazimzumbwi Nature Forest and Ruvu South Forest Reserves, Tanzania--Philbert Anitha Byabato and Alberto Bruno Nyundo
6. Macroinvertebrate and Fish Assemblages as Indicators of Wetland Modification within the SGR Footprint--Edmond Alavaisha
7. Herpetofauna within the Standard Gauge Railway Footprint from Dar es Salaam to Makutupora, Dodoma, Tanzania--Wilrik Ngalasoni
8. The Avifauna of Pugu Hills and Ruvu South Coastal Forests amidst Railway Development--Jasson John
9. Ecological Status of Galagos in Pugu Nature and Ruvu South Forest Reserves--Julius Mohamed Kibaja, Athumani Fatina Mturi and Flora John Magige, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
10. Bats of Pugu-Kazimzumbwi and Ruvu South Forests, Tanzania--Chacha Werema
11. Wildlife Conservation Implications of Large Mammals along Standard Gauge Railway from Dar Es Salaam to Isaka–Kahama, Tanzania--Deusdedith Fidelis, Catherine Aloyce Masao, Felix A. Shayo and N A Mbwambo
12. Prospects on biodiversity along the Standard Gauge Railway, Dar es Salaam to Makutupora, Dodoma, Tanzania--Catherine Aloyce Masao, Joel Nobert and Flora John Magige

Catherine Aloyce Masao

Dr. Catherine A. Masao is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department of Quality Assurance for Research, Publications and Innovations of the UDSM. She has a PhD in Nature Conservation from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in sandwich with Oslo University in Norway since 2012, and a MSc. in Conservation Biology from Kent university, Canterbury, UK in 2004. Dr. Masao undertook her Post-doctoral Research on Scientific foundations of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation SNF in collaboration with the German Research Foundation (2018/2019). Dr. Masao is also a TRC's Advisor for Biodiversity Action Plan Implementation along the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Dar es salaam to Mwanza since 2020. She has also been a Lead Author of the Africa Chapter in the IPCC WG2AR6 Report, and did long-term research on Afro-alpine Sky Islands: Genetic Versus Taxonomic Biodiversity, Biodiversity Conservation and Implications of Climate Change that was conducted on high mountains of eastern Africa funded by NUFU.

Joel Nobert

Joel Nobert is Associate Professor and Director of the Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam. He trained at the University of Dar es Salaam and Yokohama National University, Japan, and has specialized in hydrology and Water Resources Management. He is currently leading the team in the development of Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Plan (IWRMDP) for Lake Victoria basin. He is the hydrologist with the team doing the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project as water resources expert. He is also working with Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) as hydrologist for the ongoing project under the Ministry on Development of prediction tools for flood forecasting early warning (FFEWS).

Flora John Magige

Professor Magige received a BSc degree from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania, in 2000, and later MSc. and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the UDSM and NTNU, Norway in 2003 and 2008, respectively. In 2006, she joined the UDSM as Assistant Lecturer, and is now an Associate Professor since 2020. She has been engaged in teaching, conducting research, and supervising both Undergraduate and Postgraduates students. She has published several articles in reputable journals and is a member of research advisory committees. She is currently the Principal of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, UDSM.

biodiversity loss; environmental impact of infrastructure projects; railway biodiversity; conservation measures; Pugu reserve; Maktupora; Ruyu south reserve