Bulletin of the FJVNHS 29(1/2) 
Tana River and toresl showing emergent Tana Rivet Poplar Populus 
ilicilotia. endemic lo the area Photo by T Butynshi 
In the morning, the cool forest air is broken by calls 
from local birds and at night <nvls and night primates 
(galagos) calls can be heard from afar The gallery forest 
is under threats of farmland extension, fires, felling of 
large trees for dugout canoes, pole cutting and honey 
harvesting The forest being fragile and dependent on 
Tana River flooding regime is also threatened by 
construction or Mutonga and Lower Grand Falls Darns 
which are due to be completed in about the year 2001 
and will reduce or affect the Hooding of the river All 
these pose a great threat to the rich and unique lllc 
forms dependent on the forest. 
The conservation of the gallery forest and its 
biodiversity is of considerable importance to Kenyons 
and the world This depends greatly on the local 
communities around the forest The agricultural ftikomo 
community, which interacts with and influences much 
of the forest, believes that the land belongs to ilietn and 
that they have a right to he inside Tana River Primate 
National Reserve (TRPNR) They claim to have been 
living and conserving ihc forests since lime immemorial 
The hone of contention is thai the forest patches are 
reducing in size and primates populations are 
decreasing 
During my visits I noticed certain 
changes in the forest, both inside and 
outside TRPNR Of particular interest is 
Kipende Forest which has lost 60% of 
its area to farmlands The only red 
colobus group found there in a 1994 
census (Butynski & Mwangi. 1995) could 
not be located after a whole day’s search 
by 4 people If this is the ease, the red 
colobus ’s range has been reduced by 
about 5 km, or so. on the western side of 
Tana River In Mnnzini South Forest, at 
least 5 trees have been cut for dugout 
canoes and 3 others by honey harvesters 
in almost every hectare This has left 
primate groups in the area in a desperate 
habitat. Red colobus which rely on trees 
greater than 10 m in height for food. 
movements and shelter were restricted 
to the edges where canopy is more 
closed. Likewise, the crested 
mangabeys could only be located 
within forest edges due to thick 
undergrowth In Baomo South the 
situation is even worse, trees have been 
cut down or burned indiscriminately 
in many parts. No farm extension was 
seen and therefore the action could be 
ill directed either towards the primates 
or TRPNR management At the 
moment it is difficult to say how these 
changes have affected the primate 
populations and other species found 
m the area, but by the end of the GF.F 
Project this may become clearer and 
eventually a protocol established 
for the preservation of this rare 
and unique habitat. 
Current conservation programs try to integrate local 
communities in order to gain support for their success 
This comes in the form sustainable utilization or harvest 
of natural resources so that local communities can 
benefit directly or indirectly Sustainable utilization/ 
harvest is a generally misunderstood and misused 
concept m today's conservation effort It generally 
means extraction of natural resources in a manner that 
the resource in question is not depleted and can renew 
Itself so that similar levels of exploitation can occur 
indefinitely. However, although sustainable harvest has 
too often been equated with effective conservation, it 
has been an activity whose objective is the material 
welfare of a select group of people who can redefine 
and Increase harvest accordingly ( l-Udwing etd . 1 993) Can 
Tana River Gallery Forest be used at a sustainable rate’’ 
One needs to consider a number of important facts 
• Trees selected for canoes arc hard woods, i e . 
Mt mu sops Jr mi cosa. Diospyrm mespiliformis. 
among others, due to their durability The trees 
form a major dietary component for the 
endangered primates It seems as if certain 
Tana River Crested Mangabey Cercocebus galeritus galeritus. 
an endemic species Photo by J Kirathe. 
