Albertine Rift montane forests

The mountain forests in the Western Rift, an ecoregion of the Tropical Rainforest biome, located in the heart of Afro- montane tropical Africa.

Location and description

The high mountain forests cover the western part of Rwanda and Burundi, the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of western Uganda and Tanzania. This area includes the Western Riftberge which include the western train of the East African Rift. The mountain ranges include the Lendu Plateau in Uganda (even if the forest was cleared here almost entirely ), the Virunga volcanoes and the Ruwenzori Mountains. At the highest elevations of the Rwenzori and Virunga mountain ranges (over 3000 meters ) forests go in the Afro alpine ecoregion of the Rwenzori Virunga mountain moor land, including the tips of the Stanley Mountains and the Karisimbi over. However, the highest elevation in Burundi, Mont Heha is, in this ecoregion.

Flora and Fauna

The montane rain forests ecoregion that have a cooler climate than the Congolese lowland forests or savannah, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, and therefore are home to a rich diversity of African montane flora and especially fauna. The rare Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei ) survives only in this ecoregion, as well as the Eastern Beard monkey and a subspecies of the owl monkey head as well as many species of birds, including the Lenduschnäpper, the Ruwenzori Turaco and Graueria vittata. The mountain forests are a hot spot for biodiversity, 20 percent of amphibians Africa occur here, including many Ried as frogs Hyperolius castaneus or believed lost Hyperolius sankuruensis.

Threats and protection

A large part of the forest has been cleared for agriculture and deforestation, particularly in the densely populated countries of Rwanda and Burundi, but remain large parts of the forest or in forest conservation areas and on higher altitudes in mountain ranges, including Virunga, Itombwe and Ruwenzori. The clearing of the forest takes place continuously and is a great threat to the environmental situation of the region. The violent recent history has damaged the ecological balance also, and almost eliminated, for example, the population of elephants in Virunga National Park in Congo.

How Virunga includes the ecoregion and Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kibale National Park and Volcanoes National Park in Uganda.

Cities

The built-up areas in the region include:

• In Uganda - The city of Fort Portal, starting point for chimpanzee viewing in

Kibale National Park.

• Rwanda - Ruhengeri ( near the Volcanoes National Park), and the towns of Gisenyi, Kibuye ( for boat trips to the island of Napoleon in the lake ), and Cyangugu, a starting point for primate observation in Nyungwe Forest, on Lake Kivu.
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo - the cities on the

Lake Kivu Goma towards Gisenyi and the starting point of the visit of Virunga National Park and Bukavu towards Cyangugu and near the National Park Kahuzi- Biéga, home of the mountain gorillas, but is threatened by the conflict in the region ( see Second Congo War).

• In Burundi - the northwestern cities Cibitoke and the flood -damaged Bubanza, and the southern city Bururi where the forest nature reserve Bururi preserves many of the Afro- montane forest.

Visit the Region

Popular activities include:

• Gorilla watching in the Virunga National Park, or in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda (formerly the starting point of zoologist Dian Fossey ).
• Trekking in the Rwenzori Mountains.