Taita Hills biodiversity project report

The Taita Hills Biodiversity Project (THBP) is a collaboration between the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), Kenyatta University (KU) and the University of Antwerp (UA). The Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) (formerly known as the Belgian Administration for Development Co-operation, ABOS) funded the project, through the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR), with input from the Kenyan counterparts. The main objective of the project was to improve the human resources and infrastructure of the Department of Zoology of KU and of the collaborating departments of NMK. This was by done by training of scientific personnel, both in Kenya and in Belgium, and by improving existing scientific facilities of both institutions. Ultimately the goal was to improve the existing ability to conduct modern scientific research in the field of biodiversity, systematics, ecology and conservation. Furthermore, a thorough understanding of the deterioration of the environment, and the decline of biodiversity in Kenya and the world, will form the basis for preservation, protection and/or sustainable utilisation of the remaining biological resources through sound management plans. The realisation of the main objective was through a study of the effects of forest fragmentation on the biodiversity of the Taita Hills in the Southeast of Kenya. The Taita Hills, together with Mount Sagala and Mount Kasigau, form the northernmost part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are the sole representatives of this geological formation within the Kenyan political boundaries. As many other Eastern Arc Mountains, this complex of hills harbours an unusually high proportion of rare and endemic fauna and flora. Because of recent and past population pressure, the remaining forest fragments are now small, scattered, and are becoming more and more fragmented and degraded.