Researchers have always known that the Albertine Rift--the western portion of the Great Rift Valley--is unrivaled in Africa for its species richness; it served as a refuge for myriad species from many different habitats during the Pleistocene Period (between 1.6 million years and 10,000 years ago). But only recently have they attempted to tally the numbers across the entire region.
"These findings prove that the Albertine Rift ranks as one of the utmost conservation priorities in the world," said Dr. Andrew Plumptre, director of WCS's Albertine Rift Program. "There is a great need to manage this region in a more holistic fashion across international borders, as opposed to simply managing individual sites."
The report uses data for five vertebrate groups and two other groups (butterflies and plants) from 40 protected areas and research sites within the Albertine Rift system as indicators for the region's total biodiversity. So far, available data show that 1,100 species are unique to the area and that over 100 species are critically threatened, endangered, or vulnerable according to the criteria of the World Conservation Union.
The report also ranks sites according to ratings for biodiversity, endemism and threatened species, including existing parks such as Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, the Nyungwe Forest Reserve in Rwanda, and Lake Tanganyika. Unprotected areas of high importance include the montane forests of Itombwe Massif in DRC.
Many of the most important sites in the rift are highly threatened because of civil war in DRC. Local people have encroached upon and settled inside protected areas, and armed militias are living in both the Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks. These sites area are also under threat from oil exploration, with most of the northern half of the Albertine Rift already divided into oil concessions, including national parks.