The Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve (established 1981) is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in the depression of the East African Rift Valley in the

Lake Manyara Lake Manyara is a lake located in Monduli District of Arusha Region, Tanzania and is the seventh-largest lake of Tanzania by surface area, at . It is a shallow, alkaline lake in the Natron-Manyara-Balangida branch of the East African Rift. The n ...

Basin in

Arusha Region Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern ...

of northern

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 ...

. The reserve is managed by Tanzanian

Lake Manyara National Park Lake Manyara National Park is a protected area in Tanzania's Arusha and Manyara Regions, situated between Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley. It is administered by the Tanzania National Parks Authority, and covers an area of including about ...

History

The biosphere reserve was part of the UNESCO-MAB project "Biosphere Reserves for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Anglophone Africa (BRAAF)" which had the objective to ensure the long-term conservation of biodiversity in including local population in its sustainable use. Several BRAAF projects aimed to promote income-generating activities such as bee-keeping or to control the tick infestation in the livestock of the pastoralist communities. , the human population in the biosphere reserve is estimated to over 250,000 people. With most indigenous people practicing pastoralism and agriculture, these are the most important socio-economic activities in the area. Ethnic groups of the Lake Manyara region are the

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

, the Iraqw and the Barabaig. Most of the immigrants in the region depend on tourism. Poaching of wildlife for meat and trophies,

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes ...

, selling of firewood and charcoal constitute threats to the biodiversity in the biosphere reserve.

Geography

The reserve's surface area is . The core area is , of which Lake Manyara is , surrounded by buffer zone(s) of and transition area(s) of . Below the

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...

wall, perennial springs in the north support a ground water forest (characterized by '' Trichilia roka'' and ''

Croton macrostachyus ''Croton macrostachyus'' is a species of flowering plant native to the mountains of Sub-Saharan Africa. Description ''Croton macrostachyus'' is a deciduous tree. It generally grows 6 to 12 meters tall, and occasionally up to 30 meters. It has a ...

'' or the yellow fever tree ('' Acacia xanthophloea''). Riverine

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, swamps,

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

and alkaline

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s also characterize the area.

Sources

References

{{National Parks of Tanzania

Biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also ...

Biosphere reserves of Tanzania Geography of Manyara Region Babati District