Area of incidence in red The Coastal forests of eastern Africa, also known as the East African Coastal Forests, is a tropical moist forest region along the east coast of Africa. The region was designated a

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the c ...

by Conservation International. The forests extend in a narrow band along the coast of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, from southern

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

in the north, through coastal

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

to the mouth of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountain ...

in southern

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

divides the coastal forests into two ecoregions: the

Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

, which extends from southern Somalia through coastal Kenya to southern Tanzania, and includes the islands of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

and

Pemba Pemba may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Pemba Island, in Tanzania * Pemba, Mozambique Pemba is a port city and district in Mozambique. It is the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado and lies on a peninsula in Pemba Bay. The town was found ...

, and the

Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

, which extends from southern Tanzania along the Mozambique coast to the mouth of the Limpopo.

Gallery

File:Dense forest in doline (9710746328).jpg, A moist forested gulley at

, Mozambique File:Deciduous forest with Hyphaene petersiana.jpg, Deciduous forest on the Yoloko inselberg near Pemba, Mozambique File:Hildegardia migeodii - blue sky (8131504138).jpg, ''

Hildegardia migeodii ''Hildegardia migeodii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. The deciduous shrub or smallish tree is an uncommon to rare endemic to the coastal forests region of eastern Africa. Range and habitat It is occurs locally from s ...

'',

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

, a rare endemic of these forests

External links

Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania (Tanzania Forest Conservation Group)Coastal forests of eastern Africa (Conservation International)
* *
African Wild Dog Conservancy's Biodiversity Hotspots Page
Afrotropical realm Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Forests and woodlands of Africa Endemic Bird Areas {{ecoregion-stub

Gallery

See also

External links