The Conservation Importance Of The Mgwayiza Mist Belt Forest Malolotja Nature Reserve, Swaziland

One of the most threatened habitats in southern Africa is Afromontane forest. This habitat, also known as mist belt forest, occurs at high altitude in mountainous terrain, usually in deep, steep-sided valleys and gorges. Some of the trees occurring in Afromontane forest are very old, more than a hundred years old, and consequently any damage or destruction of this habitat could take centuries for it to recover.

The Mgwayiza mist belt forest is unique in Swaziland in that it forms the upper part of an intergrading zone between escarpment forest and middleveld forest. There is a transition from Afromontane forest, at 1400m, to Afrotropical forest and thicket at 680m, from the top of the Mgwayiza Range to the Nkomati River. Nowhere else in Swaziland is such an important stretch of forest habitat protected.

Associated with the unique and specialised flora occurring in Afromontane forest is a great diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. Much of what occurs in Afromontane forest is not even known, particularly with regard to the insect fauna. Nonetheless, the limited knowledge we have of the Mgwayiza mist belt forest amphibians and birds indicates that it is a forest not only of national, but of international importance.

Three important amphibians occur in the forest, the Natal Ghost Frog (Heleophryne natalensis), the Plaintive Rain Frog (Breviceps verrucosus) and the Clicking Stream Frog (Strongylopus grayii). All three species are endemic to Swaziland, South Africa and Lesotho, that is, they do not occur anywhere else in the world. These amphibians, without exception, have specialised ecological requirements and in Swaziland, are only to be found in Afromontane mist belt forest. The Ghost Frog is only known from five localities in Swaziland and the only protected habitat that the species has is in Malolotja Nature Reserve. The Rain Frog has only been recorded from two localities in Swaziland, one of which is in Malolotja Nature Reserve. The Stream Frog has only been recorded from a single locality in Swaziland, and that is Malolotja Nature Reserve.

The Mgwayiza Forest is one of the most important protected mist belt forests in southern Africa for birds. The importance of Malolotja Nature Reserve for conserving southern African bird habitats, especially indigenous forest and grassland, is indisputable. Almost 36% (33 out of approximately 92 species) of southern Africa's endemic birds have been recorded from Malolotja Nature Reserve. Several important bird species have been recorded from the Mgwayiza Forest. The forest is the finest example of fully protected Afromontane mist belt forest in which the diversity of bird species is almost beyond belief. It is the only locality in Swaziland where the exceptionally rare Orange Thrush has been recorded. Also occurring in this forest is the very rare Brown Robin only recorded once before in Swaziland. Other species of conservation importance, because their habitat is so limited and threatened outside Malolotja Nature Reserve, are the Bush Blackcap, Chorister Robin, Starred Robin, Grey Cuckooshrike, Olive Bush Shrike, Southern Boubou, Narina Trogon and Knysna Lourie. If two groups of animals (amphibians and birds) clearly illustrate the uniqueness of the Mgwayiza Forest then the importance of protecting the forest for other vertebrates and more especially for the invertebrates, must be considered.

The protection of the Mgwayiza mist belt forest is of critical international importance and the idea of mining the adjacent cliff face should never have been entertained. There is only one consideration and that is to ensure that the Mgwayiza Forest receives the highest protection possible. A great deal more has to be learned about this forest in respect of its flora and fauna before any other form of land use, other than nature conservation, can be considered.

Richard C. Boycott