Vundwe Island is a small uninhabited island in Tanzania. The islet is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, and is located near the southwestern coast of Unguja. It lies only 300 m south of

Uzi Island Uzi Island is an island in the south of Zanzibar, connected by causeway to the main island of Unguja. It is located immediately to the south of the main island's Unguja Ukuu ruins. The island is undeveloped and contains few occupants who temporari ...

and it has an area of 1,4 km². Its elevation is about 17 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. The waters surrounding the island are used as a site for commercial fishing. Vundwe is relatively isolated and it is not a protected area, unlike the nearby

Kiwengwa/Pongwe Forest Reserve The Kiwengwa/Pongwe Forest Reserve is located on the northeast coast of Unguja, 20 km from Zanzibar Town. The reserve is an important biodiversity spot in the coral rag zone. The forest reserve is rich in both infaunal and floral species. Th ...

. The island has a high coral rag forest with tall trees like ''Adansonia digitata'' baobabs, which has, in recent years, started to be subjected to extensive clearing. This impacts the habitat of the Zanzibar red colobus, an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of red colobus monkey which the island houses. The species population also declines because of poisonings.

References

Islands of Zanzibar Uninhabited islands of Tanzania {{Zanzibar-geo-stub