PECFO Landscape
The Pwani Landscape stretches across the five coastal counties of Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River, and Lamu. It extends from the Kenya-Tanzania border to the south to the Kenya-Somalia border to the north, with a coastal stretch of about 600 kilometers. The landscape's strategic location covers part of the western Indian Ocean region. It embraces various ecosystems, ranging from Coastal forests to marine, wetlands, Savannah, and arid and semi-arid, making it a biodiversity hotspot and a center for sustainable development.
The stretch of the coastal landscape from Vanga to Kiunga looks very idyllic to everyone, especially visitors, enjoying embedded beauties in the mountains and waterfalls of Shimba Hills, the warmth of continuous sandy beaches, moderated coastal temperatures, the beautiful, diverse cultures; the plenty of birdlife and wild games; the lovely Swahili language; the beautiful corals; and the extensive mangrove plantations and the seagrass meadows.
Pwani Ecosystem
The Pwani landscape is the home of natural beauty, endowed with magnificent biomes full of flora and fauna. If you need a veritable paradise and pristine ecosystems, the Pwani landscape has it. Its vastness has contributed to its biodiversity richness.
Coastal forests and savannah
The coastal forests are rich ecosystems characterized by dense canopies of thick woodlands, majestic coastal palm stands, and savannah areas. The Shimba Hills and the Arabuko Sokoke forests are the largest remnants of the Kenya coastal forests. However, there are other coastal forest patches in existence, such as the Lower Tana River, Kaya Ribe, and Diani forests. These forests are rich in biodiversity and are known to host globally threatened species such as the sable antelopes of Shimba Hills, the elephant shrew of Arabuko Sokoke, the Tana River crested mangabey, Tana River red colobus, and the hirola. It is, therefore, worth stating that the coastal forests deserve robust protection and recognition.
Marine
Mangroves, coastal palms, white sandy beaches, coral gardens, and seagrass meadows characterize marine ecosystems. Mangroves are a special type of forest located in the intertidal zones of the ocean. In Kenya, they occupy about 61,271 hectares along the entire stretch of the coastline. They dwell as dense thickets of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs, forming integral components of the coastal strip. Mangroves are crucial breeding zones for teeming marine organisms such as fish, crabs, and prawns and ideal habitats for avifauna.
Wetlands
The Pwani landscape has this unique ecosystem made up of deltas, estuaries, creeks, tidal flats, and mangrove forests. These critical habitats are wildlife hotspots with various ecosystem services and a source of livelihood for the local communities. With global recognition as a Ramsar site and a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), the Tana River Delta is the largest wetland in Kenya, covering a total area of 130,000 hectares. Wetlands are important ecosystems that should not be overlooked.
Wildlife
The Pwani landscape is abundant with plant and animal life. It hosts various species of wildlife of global interest due to their endemism, while others are globally threatened. The abundance of species is a result of the many ecosystems interconnected to form the landscape.
The Pwani landscape has exceptional populations of big mammals and reptiles, particularly the famous Big Five, giraffes, sable antelopes, hirola, Tana River crested mangabey, Tana River red colobus, bushbucks, waterbucks, forest cobras, African rock pythons, and herds of hippos and crocodiles.
Marine life in the tidal and intertidal zones is embedded in mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. These ecosystems are home to diverse species of marine mammals, fish, sea turtles, sea stars, and avifauna. They are vital in tourism, fisheries, and sustainable livelihoods.
Bird life is rich and varied depending on the habitat. For instance, Arabuko Sokoke, ranked as the second most important forest for the conservation of bird species in Africa, is the home of six globally threatened bird species: the Sokoke Pipit, Amani Sunbird, Sokoke Scopes Owl, East Coast Akalat, Spotted Ground Thrush, and Clark’s Weaver. Thousands of shorebirds beautify the coast ranging from crab plovers, Lesser Crested Terns, Caspian Terns, Gull-billed Tern, Roseate Terns, Masked Booby to Sooty Gulls with Lamu and Tana River Delta areas being hotspots for palearctic migratory seabirds. The birds across the landscape are many and not limited to those, as mentioned earlier.
Tourism attraction
The Pwani Landscape is a magical and veritable paradise with the best tourist destinations. It looks very idyllic to everyone, especially visitors, who enjoy its embedded beauties ranging from the sandy beaches at the coast to diverse flora and fauna, national game parks and reserves, the untouched Kaya forests, diverse cultures, and scenic landscapes, swaying coconut palms, to name but a few.
Tourists looking for pristine nature and a spectacular Indian Ocean coast will find the Pwani landscape has it. It’s the only landscape where you can enjoy the warm azure oceans, snorkeling, diving, boat rides, windsurfing, water skiing, shorebirds, mangrove boardwalks, diving dolphins, and beautiful white sandy beaches.
The Chitsanze and Sheldrick waterfalls of Shimba Hills are a joy to watch and touch.
Protected areas
Within the Pwani landscape are state-protected areas with great conservation importance. There are five marine national parks and one terrestrial national park: Mombasa Marine National Park, Kisite Mpunguti Marine National Park, Watamu Marine National Park, and Malindi Marine National Park. The terrestrial national park is Arabuko Sokoke National Park.
Similarly, there are six marine national reserves and four terrestrial national reserves. The marine national reserves are Kiunga, Malindi, Watamu, Mombasa, Diani-Chale, and Mpunguti. In contrast, the terrestrial national reserves are Shimba Hills National Reserve, Tana River Primates Reserve, Dodori National Reserve, and Witu Forest Reserve.
The state-protected areas along the coastal region are rich in wildlife, including globally threatened and endemic species. The Shimba Hills National Reserve hosts Kenya’s highest density of African elephants.
