The Tana River Primate National Reserve is a former national wildlife reserve in south-eastern

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

. It existed from 1976 to 2007.

Geography

Most of the area was semi-arid

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

but a small portion, about , was made up of small patches of

riverine A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

forest.David N. M. Mbora & Thomas M. Butynski tatic1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1200343/18634083/1339099071747/Tana+River+Red+Colobus.pdf Tana River Red Colobus Primates in Peril 2008-2010.

History

The government of Kenya set aside the land in 1976 as an order to protect the

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y forests of the Lower Tana River and two endangered primates, the

Tana River mangabey The Tana River mangabey (''Cercocebus galeritus'') is a highly endangered species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Some authorities have included the taxa ''agilis'' and '' sanjei'' as subspecies of this species, while others award the ...

and the Tana River red colobus, that are found there. The endangered primates inhabit sixteen patches of forest (ranging from .1 to 6.25 km²) which extends for 60 km down the meandering lower Tana River, between Nkanjonja and Mitapani. Despite a $6.7 million

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (POPs ...

project (1996 to 2001), conservation measures for the two primates have been largely ineffective. In 2005, more than 250 families of farmers were relocated 90 km away to the coastal community of

Kipini Kipini is a historic Swahili settlement in Kenya's Coast Province The Coast Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Pwani) of Kenya, along the Indian Ocean, was one of Kenya's eight provinces. It comprises the Indian Ocean coastal strip with the capital city a ...

.Tana River Primate National Reserve (TRPNR), Kenya (Downsize, 2007)
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De-protection

In 2007, the

High Court of Kenya The High Court of Kenya is a court of unlimited original jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters established under article 165 of the constitution of Kenya The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme lawof the Republic of Kenya. There have b ...

ruled that the reserve had not been properly established according to Kenyan law. As a result, the reserve was degazetted−disestablished, removing all official protection of the area and its National Reserve status and funding.

Habitat

The lush river forest patches are remainders of western African forests. The river cuts through dry woodland and open savannah. Recorded bird species there number 262, and at least 57 species of mammals live there. There are several

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

tree species as well as a variety of other animals and plants. Many of the bird and animal species in the reserve are unusual in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

, being typical of

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

’s lowland

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. The

white-winged apalis The white-winged apalis (''Apalis chariessa'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or trop ...

is extremely rare. The African openbill stork,

martial eagle The martial eagle (''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa.Ferguson-Lees & Christie, ''Raptors of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Company (2001), . It is the only member of the genus ''Polemaetus''. A species of t ...

bat hawk The bat hawk (''Macheiramphus alcinus'') is a raptor found in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to New Guinea. It is named for its diet, which consists mainly of bats. It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense r ...

African pygmy-falcon The pygmy falcon (''Polihierax semitorquatus'') or African pygmy falcon is a bird species native to eastern and southern Africa. It is the smallest bird of prey on the continent. Description Adult pygmy falcons are white below and on the face, ...

, African barred owlet, scaly babbler, black-bellied glossy-starling, and golden pipit are also rare. Recent research has shown that, if restored, this area could act as a refugium for wildlife with moderate levels of climate change.

References

External links

Naturekenya.org: Diversity and Biogeograph of Herpetofauna of the Tana River Primate Nation Reserve, Kenya

doi.org: "Primate Conservation along the Tana River, Kenya: An Examination of the Forest Habitat"
{{authority control Former protected areas Wildlife sanctuaries of Kenya Primate sanctuaries Tana River (Kenya) Tana River County Government agencies disestablished in 2007 Protected areas established in 1976 Protected areas disestablished in 2007 1976 establishments in Kenya 2007 disestablishments in Kenya Environmental issues in Kenya National parks of Kenya Northern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic