VAT Introduction to Impact growth in Tanzania’s Tourism Industry

Tanzania’s efforts to improve its infrastructure have led to a search for new revenue streams, which may impact growth in the tourism sector over the near term.

As part of a package of reforms aimed at funding an overhaul of the road, rail and air networks, in July the government removed a value-added tax (VAT) exemption for tourism services, which are now subject to 18% VAT. Financial services saw the withdrawal of a similar dispensation, and vehicle registration fees were raised as well.

According to public statements from Philip Mpango, minister of finance and planning, tax revenues as a percentage of GDP are expected to rise – partly as a result of the VAT levy – from 12.6% in FY 2015/16 to 13.8% in FY 2016/17.

The need for new revenue streams is clear given the size of the capital outlays in the government’s latest budget, which outlines plans to increase spending by nearly one-third and forecasts the fiscal deficit expanding slightly to 4.5% of GDP.

Infrastructure Push 

Under the current plan, one-quarter of the total budget, or TZS5.47trn ($2.51bn), is allocated to infrastructure projects, with TZS2.18trn ($1bn) earmarked for road construction and rehabilitation, and TZS2.49trn ($1.1bn) for various projects to boost connectivity, including rail, port and airport upgrades.

Improving the condition of Tanzania’s transport networks would provide a range of benefits for a number of key sectors, including tourism.

“Poor roads and power shortages make tourists feel uncomfortable and erode the competitiveness of the destination,” Damas Mfugale, former chairman of the Hotel Association of Tanzania, told local media earlier this year.

Tanzania has roughly 86,000 km of roads, of which less than a quarter are paved, leading to access problems during inclement weather. Limited road networks beyond the popular sites in northern Tanzania have also dampened visitor traffic to less well-travelled parts of the country.

To this end, authorities at Ruaha National Park – the largest national park, spanning some 20 sq km of central Tanzania – recently appealed to the government to modernise the park’s access roads.

“Most roads leading to the park are in a poor condition, to the extent that visitors fail to reach the game reserve,” Maronda Maronda, acting chief park warden, told local media at the end of November.

Higher-priced Tourism 

The levying of VAT on tourism services – which will increase the costs of tours, game drives and safaris – has raised concern among domestic and international stakeholders in the tourism industry.

The Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, for example, estimated that the higher prices had resulted in at least 8000 visitor cancellations and $660,000 in lost revenue as of early July.

The country has also faced pushback from the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations. Representing some 70,000 travel agents and tour operators in 27 European countries, the group threatened to rebook its customers to other African destinations – including neighbouring Kenya, which does not impose a VAT on tourism services – if the exemption was not reinstated.

Key Sector 

The private sector’s concerns come amid what has been a gradual decade-long increase in tourist numbers, with international arrivals increasing by nearly 90% since 2004 to reach 1.1m in 2015.

The sector is also the country’s highest foreign exchange earner, contributing TZS10.9trn ($5.03bn) to GDP last year, or 11.4%, according to the 2016 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) report on Tanzania. The WTTC forecasts that this growth will remain steady over the next 10 years, maintaining an average growth rate of 7.1% per annum to reach 11.6% of GDP in 2026.

Visitors are drawn by a wide range of attractions, including Tanzania’s 16 national parks, 31 game reserves, 33 wildlife management areas and six nature reserves – which include iconic sites like Mount Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Serengeti National Park – as well as 1424 km of coastline on the Indian Ocean.

Tanzania: More Investment Needed in Tourism

INVESTORS have been encouraged to invest in tourism sector by capitalising on the shortage of accommodations.

The Chairman of Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), Judge (retired) Thomas Mihayo, made the call in Dar es Salaam at the weekend when presenting the organisation's achievements over the year and the board's achievement in eight months since it was appointed on April, this year.

"Most of our tourists' attraction sites lack enough rooms to accommodate tourists visiting our country. While we are planning to promote our tourism sector globally and back home we have a shortage of accommodations, the work done will be equal to zero as many tourists may be discouraged by the services they will find.

We don't know why, but most of investors have the perception that, the tourist industry is filled up, something which is not true. We encourage investors to invest in this sector as we are looking forward to increase number of tourists, therefore, investment opportunities in the sector will increase," he noted.

Among the remarkable achievements the board has made so far is being able to pay a debt amounting 2bn/- out of 5bn/- the organisation is owned by various service providers and ads arrears. He pointed out that the parastatal was in a critical financial situation at the time they were appointed.

"When the board got in eight months ago, TTB had critical financial situation and on top of that had debts stand about 5bn/- that includes outstanding allowances, salaries, service providers and ads arrears. We then set up strategies to repay debts to make sure the board efficiency increase, we are pleased the strategies had fruitfully paid off and we were able to repay the debt amounting 2bn/-, and we will continue re-paying the remaining balance," he said.

Responding to the instructions of the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Professor Jumanne Maghembe, who directed the board to promote and increase number of tourists visiting the country to reach 3 million from current 1 million tourists the country is receiving, Justice Mihayo said so far they had already signed up a number of memorandum of understanding (MoU) with both local and international organisations to promote tourists sites existing in the country.

Prof Magembe gave the directives on August, this year while inaugurating the board in Dar es Salaam. According to him the board is well organised to promote well all existing tourist attractions available in the country, urged Tanzanians to help the board as well in promoting tourists attractions.

Tanzania: Govt Yields On Disputed Licence Fee for Tour Firms

Arusha — The Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, held a stormy meeting with tour operators on Saturday.

There was no shortage of drama as either side accused the other of undermining the multi-billion dollar tourism industry.

Prof Maghembe and tour operators were engaged in a heated exchange on the validity of a litany of taxes during the meeting, which also saw the government cave in to pressure and temporarily lift its ban on vehicles entering national parks without the licence issued by the Tourist Agency Licensing Authority (Tala).

The minister was forced to lift the ban after tour operators complained bitterly about the $2,000 (Sh4.2 million) licence fee levied on tour firms irrespective of the size of their businesses, claiming that it was too high for some companies and should be reduced.

On November 1, the government banned vehicles from entering national parks and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area without the Tala licence, a decision that has mostly affected small tour firms operating a few vehicles.

The tour operators, under their powerful lobby body based in Arusha, the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato), said the move was counter-productive and had impacted on small firms run by indigenous Tanzanians.

Tala issues its licence to various players in the tourism industry, including hotels, tour operators, lodges and air charter firms.

However, there have of late been complaints that smaller tour firms are being victimised because they have to pay the $2,000 flat rate even if they have one or two vehicles.

They have asked the government to review the fee and allow tour operators to pay according to the number of vehicles they operate.

Neighbouring Kenya, which Tanzania competes with for foreign tourists in this part of Africa, charges tour operators according to the number of vehicles they have.

Prof Maghembe told the meeting that the government would consider tour operators' request on the licence fee.

He said the ban would be lifted for a few weeks to pave the way for discussions between tour operators and the government on the way forward.

"Regarding your request to have the Tala licence reviewed, the government will suspend the ban while discussions are going on...I expect a decision will be reached next month."

The minister added, however, that the Tala licence was mandatory for all those involved in the tourism industry irrespective of the size of businesses.

There have been calls by tour operators and other stakeholders in the tourism sector for different categories of Tala licence holders that would take into consideration business volumes and number of vehicles.

During Saturday's meeting, representatives of small tour firms asked the government to cut the fee to $200, adding that only big firms with big fleets should be required to pay $2,000.

The small tour operators got an unlikely supporter in Arusha Regional Commissioner Mrisho Gambo, who said the firms were finding it difficult to raise $2,000 for the Tala licence every year and at the same time meet other operational costs.

He concurred with the operators that the fee paid should depend on the number of vehicles owned, adding that companies operating less than 30 vehicles should be exempt.

Prof Maghembe said the fee was not aimed at blocking small operators from taking tourists to national parks.

The intention was to collect the government's fair share of revenue from the sector, the minister said, adding that 1,230 tour firms paid Sh4.4 billion for the Tala licence during the 2015/16 financial year.

He also came to the defence of value added tax imposed on tourism services earlier this year.

Prof Maghembe defended the government against accusations it was not doing enough to promote tourism, the country's leading foreign exchange earner and which also accounts for 17 per cent of GDP.

"The government usually considers all factors before passing a decision. We also involve stakeholders...you may recall that this is my fourth meeting with you."

Tato chairperson Wilbard Chamburo said many local tour firms were operating in an "extremely tough" environment, adding that very few were making enough money to buy new vehicles.

"A new Toyota Land-Cruiser customised to carry tourists costs $90,000 (Sh180 million), which is a lot of money for small tour operators," he said.

Mr Chamburo added that the government should register all unregistered tour operators to expand the tax base.

Tanzania: Why Unlocking Potential of Southern and Western Tourism Circuits Is Crucial

Dar es Salaam — The government should invest heavily in marketing, hospitality and infrastructure to boost tourism in the southern and western circuits after figures revealed that the total number of visitors in the two zones was more than eight times less compared to that of the northern circuit.

Statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism show that the southern and western circuits, with a total of nine national parks, received only 101,788 tourists compared to 805,420, who visited national parks in the northern zone in the year 2014/15.

Such gap has been experienced for a while with minor improvements after cumulative numbers between 2008/09 and 2014/15 showed the two zones received a total of 600,591 visitors, just far behind by nine times of those visited the northern circuit with six national parks. The national parks in the southern and western tourism circuits are: Mikumi, Ruaha, Katavi, Saanane, Mahale, Gombe. Udzungwa, Rubondo and Kitulo.

Poor performance of the zone has made the regions hosting the attractions - Kigoma, Katavi, Mwanza, Morogoro, Njombe and Iringa - to less benefit from tourism. The case with Arusha, Manyara, Kilimanjaro, Mara and Tanga, is completely the opposite.

Tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner since 2012, contributing an average of $2 billion annually, which is equivalent to 25 per cent of all exchange earnings, according to the government data. It also contributes to more than 17 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GPD) and creating more than 1.5 million jobs, 500,000 of which are direct.

A survey by The Citizen in one of the largest national parks in the western circuit, Katavi, and the analysis of data from various sources, the gap in tourism performance in the two marginalized parks is attributed to lack of quality hotels, poor infrastructure and inadequate marketing.

On accommodation, according to the hospitality data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, by December last year, the northern circuit had 90 hotels more than the western and southern circuit hotels combined. And the former had 2,106 more hotel rooms compared to the latter.

Until last year, the northern zone, which has six national parks: Serengeti, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Mkomazi, Lake Manyara and Tarangire, hosted a total of 376 hotels with the capacity of accommodating about 12,204 guests per night. On the other hand, the western and southern circuit had only 286 hotels with the capacity of accommodating 6,288 visitors.

These figures suggest that the hospitality crisis is real. While hotel statistics by December show there are about 31 hotels in Katavi Region, a survey by The Citizen has established that there is only one two-star hotel and the rest are normal guest houses and lodges whose quality is low. Thus, despite its vastness and host of white giraffes, The Katavi has failed to attract as many visitors as it should have.

Mr Sirili Akko, Chief Executive Officer of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato) says, poor infrastructure in most parts of the southern and western zone make the parts around there inaccessible. "It has been easy for tourists to arrive in Serengeti, Arusha and other sites in northern Tanzania because they are close to the Kilimanjaro International Airport than going to Gombe or Katavi," he explained. The infrastructure problem in the area is a big headache to many investors and the government.

The Citizen paid a visit to Mpanda District in Katavi Region. This is where Katavi National Park (KNP) - the country's third largest national park, with 4,471 square kilometers, is situated. Most of the roads are earth (gravel or dirt), which are unpaved. This has also played a part in dragging back the speed of investment in accommodation services. Mpanda can be accessed by from Mbeya, Kigoma and Tabora regions, but none of the roads linking the rich tourist zone is paved. From all points, tourists visiting Katavi travel between nine to 13 hours, and in addition to that, they will have to face accommodation challenges.

There is an airport, but it has become a white elephant as no passenger flight has opted the Mpanda route. Only chartered planes are flying to Mpanda Airport.

Tourists who prefer commercial flights are forced to travel via Songwe Airport currently served by two airlines: Fastjet and Precision Air and then travel by vehicle for more than nine hours to Katavi National Park.

Mpanda District commissioner Lilian Mtinga says Mpanda Airport is not used commercially as it receives one flight per week by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which supplies humanitarian aid to Burundian refugees at Mishamo camp. "But with the purchasing of two air craft (by ATCL), I'm confident that the number of tourists will soon go up," she says.

However, the Regional Head of Business Department, who is also acting Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS), Mr Awariywa Nnko, affirmed the government's commitment to upgrade the 342km Tabora-Koga-Mpanda road. The road runs through two regions of Tabora and Katavi across three districts of Sikonge, Mlele and Mpanda.

Problems facing Katavi are similar to those facing Kigoma Region, which hosts two national parks --Gombe and Mahale.

Kigoma acting RAS Daniel Machunda says, geographical location, and poor accessibility to the parks found in the southern and western zone discourage visitors. "The Gombe National Park is surrounded by water, so given poor transportation services, it's difficult for tourists to book for the trip. Also, there is weak investment into the sector," he says.

Mr Akko, who has been pushing for improvements in the sector, says there is a need for serious marketing and advertisement of attractions in the southern and western zone. "This will stimulate business and other tourism related investments to marginalised tourism sites," he adds. Boosting the two tourism circuits require a huge investment by the government and the private sector.

Sh210 billion budgets has been set to boost tourism in the southern circuit for a period of six years under resilient natural resources management project. That will be used to fund infrastructure development, marketing and creating a sustainable tourism.

The project is implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In order for both zones - including the western zone which currently is not covered - the government will have to inject more funds. Unfortunately, in this financial year, the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), the mandated marketer of all tourists attractions in the country, has been allocated Sh4 billions, of which Sh2.6 billion is for promotion. Annual budgetary requirements of the Board are somewhere from Sh15 billion to Sh17 billion.

The amount allocated this year is small compared to the past four years. In 2012/13, the government set aside Sh4.6 billion for the TTB and the amount increased to Sh5.4 billion in the last financial year. "When we are facing our competitors, bigger budgets are needed so that we can clearly meet our targets," TTB managing director Devota Mdachi tells The Citizen.

One of the largest competitors of Tanzania in tourism, Kenya, set aside KSh4.5 billion this financial year just for promotion. The amount is equivalent to Sh90 billions. This is 20 times more than what TTB gets.

Prof Wineaster Anderson of the University of Dar es Salaam Business School (UDBS) names the historical promotion of available attractions to be the causative agent for the poor performance of the south and western circuits. She says, for a long time, it has been a tradition to portray Tanzania as the land of Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Zanzibar, thus posing a natural death to other attractions.

This being the fact, country's tourism activities become centered in the northern circuit and Zanzibar. "Practically, this has been blocking the awareness of foreigners on other tourism sites," she argues, suggesting that, there must be concerted efforts to market attractions found in the southern and western zone in order to reap the same fruits as those gained in the northern circuit.

"There must be effective marketing strategies that will ensure immediate effects. The common promotions such as that one advertising Tanzania as the land of few attractions should be changed to ensure that all sites are given the same weight," she stresses.

However, the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, says from this December there will be a direct flight from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Mpanda in a bid to boost the number of tourists there.

"We are looking forward to establishing the Dar-Kigoma-Mpanda route for the purpose of boosting the number of visitors. This will go along with promotion through advertisements," says the Minister.

East Africa: Work On Largest Human History Museum Nears Completion

 

Arusha — Construction of the largest museum of human history, fossil remains and archaeological discoveries is in its final stages of completion. Located in the wilderness, the facility planned to be the largest museum of its kind in both the country and entire East African region will open shop early next year.

Funded by the European Union (EU), the museum is being erected at the remote Olduvai Gorge site within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and covers both the Olduvai (Oldupai) and the Laetoli archaeological sites, where it is believed that the first human being lived millions of years ago.

"It is going to be the largest historical museum in East Africa and the first to be constructed right at the site of pre-historic archaeological discoveries," explained the Assistant Conservator at Olduvai Gorge, Mr. Orgoo Mauyai.

He explained further that the facility comprises of five large buildings to house the museum, historical data, laboratories, a restaurant and visitors' hall. The museum overlooks the legendary gorge which is believed to have been a lake, many years ago. It stands adjacent to the stony road which links to Loliondo. Nearby, there is the astounding mound of a sandy hill, which has been moving in one direction for the last 1,000 years or so.

A recent visit to the site has revealed serious workmen working around the clock to put final touches to the oval shaped structures being built from pure stones, to preserve the natural setting of the site. The authority recently took over the running of Oldupai Gorge, the archaeological and excavation site where Dr. Mary Leakey and her husband, Louis, once worked.

Manager In-Charge of the Cultural Heritage Department at Olduvai Gorge, Engineer Joshua Mwankunde, said the establishment of Dr. Leakey's Museum will go hand-in-hand with the construction of a new building to house the archaeological findings, artifacts as well as replicas at the current Oldupai site Museum, a project funded by the EU.

In sync with that, Tanzania is also negotiating with Kenya over the possibilities for the neighboring country to either sell or donate to Tanzania, all artifacts, souvenirs, tools and personal belongings of the legendary scientist, Dr. (Mary) Leakey.

The old Oldupai Ravine Site Museum has been disintegrating after the departure of Mary, who retired in 1984 before moving to Nairobi where she died twenty years ago on December 9, 1996, ironically the 35th anniversary of Tanganyika's independence. Mary,, who was born in 1913, was a British paleoanthropologist who discovered the first fossilized Proconsul skull, an extinct ape now believed to be among the human ancestors.

She also discovered the robust Zinjanthropus skull at Oldupai (Olduvai) Gorge. For much of her career, spanning more than 50 years in Tanzania; she worked alongside her husband Louis at the archaeological site located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where they uncovered the tools and fossils of ancient hominines.

She developed a system for classifying the stone tools found at Olduvai and was the one who discovered the Laetoli footprints. It was at the other Laetoli site, where she again discovered Hominid fossils that were more than 4 million years old. During her 50 years' career in Arusha, Dr Leakey discovered 15 new species of other animals and one new genus.

After the death of her husband in 1972, Mary Leakey became Director of Excavation at the Olduvai Gorge. The site was then under the Antiquities Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

She helped to establish a Leakey family tradition of paleoanthropology by training her son on the field. The Leakey’s moved to work in Tanzania in 1931, after Dr. Louis Leakey found some Olduvai fossils in Berlin, Germany, deciding then that Olduvai Gorge must be holding crucial information on human origins.

Tanzania: Poor Roads Hinder Tourism in Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park authorities have appealed to the government to build a modern road at the area to boost tourism.

Acting Chief Park Warden, Maronda Maronda, said lack of a reliable road hampers the development of the area. He said the majority of tourists from within and outside the country face many hurdles when visiting the park due to the pathetic road state.

"Most roads leading to the park are in poor condition to the extent that visitors fail to reach the game reserve," he said adding, "There was a time when some visitors came to the park but failed to accomplish their mission because of bad roads."

Maronda said improvement of the roads should go hand in hand with improvement of the airstrip in Iringa to allow many tourists visit the park. The Park Tourism Officer, Tatindaga  Mdoe, said poor roads cause the game park to lose substantial income. On average, the game park receives between 23, 000 to 25,000 tourists per year.

She said the majority of tourists fail to visit the park, denying it a huge chunk of income. Ruaha is the largest National Park in Tanzania covering an area of 20,226 square kilometres. It is located in south-central part of the country.

Tanzania: Ngorongoro Black Rhino Whereabouts Shrouded in Mystery

Ngorongoro — Mystery surrounds the case of a rhino that is missing from Ngorongoro Crater and believed to have been sold dubiously by some officials from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA).

The Prime Minister, Mr. Kassim Majaliwa, has demanded that the famous Black Rhino, known as 'John' that was removed from Ngorongoro Crater under a dubious arrangement be restored back to the caldera immediately.

Speaking at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the premier shocked the audience when he revealed the scam through which some NCAA officials together with others from TANAPA colluded to sell the Black Rhino for 200m/- but as it happened, the buyers had paid an advance of 100m/- to have the rare animal taken from the caldera.

"I know that the rhino was taken to Grumeti Reserve in Serengeti under the pretext of having the rare and endangered animal breed in the location. But in reality, it is under ownership of the private lodge," said the prime minister.

According to the premier, the rhino was taken to Grumeti Singita Sasakwa Lodge where nothing was heard of ever since the animal was taken there months ago. Mr Majaliwa even named some of the suspects - two officials from TANAPA, Dr Macha (from Mkomazi National Park) and Dr. Kileo (Serengeti National Park), as well as Mr Patrice Mattay (former ecologist at Ngorongoro), Israel Naaman and Cuthbert Lemanya (both from NCAA). Mr. Mattay was present during the meeting between Premier Majaliwa and NCAA officials.

When he was called forward to defend himself, the ecologist refuted the claims, saying that the shifting of the rhino followed the 'right procedures.' He even told the meeting that the claims about them pocketing 200m/- were 'pure lies'.

This prompted the Arusha Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr. Mrisho Gambo, to reprimand him for insinuating that the prime minister was a liar.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the only place in the country with the highest concentration of free roaming rhinos, all safe inside the well-guarded crater. The number is estimated to be above 35, but no one seems to be missing.

Tanzania: Vintage Air Rally Raises Hope On Tourism Boom

The pilots of the Vintage Air Rally planes have expressed excitement over Tanzania's tourist attractions after spending three days in the country. The crews flying on 22 planes arrived in the country on November 28 from Wilson Airport, Nairobi.

Their first stop was in Arusha and flied to Zanzibar on Wednesday. For Tanzania hosting the rally is expected to promote national tourism in a global picture as people around the world are following it up at every place.

"Tanzania's tourism is well handled, having beautiful game parks and people are very nice and friendly, they are better than most people in the world," said a 60-year old pilot, Mr Graham Holford, during an interview with the 'Daily News' at Amani Abeid Karume International Airport on Wednesday.

As he explained over tough and exciting journey they have gone through so far, Director of the Vintage Air Rally, Mr Sam Rutherford, said he was thrilled by the Tanzanian culture and national parks enriched with different kinds of wild animals.

Their excitement over the tourist attractions moved Marketing Director of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism, Dr Miraj Ukuti Ussi, to appeal to the organizers of the rally to make the next rally start in Zanzibar."We request you to start the rally here in Zanzibar so that we can feel proud since this event is very important for tourism," he said.

The rally commenced on November 12, 2016, at Crete in Greece and the entire trip will take 35days covering, 10 countries where it started off from Greece, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya then from Tanzania will proceed to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.

Puma Energy Tanzania Aviation team did their first refuel of Aviation Gas oil at Arusha Airport. The planes then flew on to the Ngoro Ngoro National Park as part of their mission. "Puma Energy Tanzania Ltd is delighted to be a major host of the rally.

Our role in supporting tourism in Tanzania remains a critical part of our participation in such activities" General Manager of Puma Energy Tanzania, Mr Philippe Corsaletti said.

The Vintage Air Rally involves aircraft built in the 1920's and 1930's operated by experienced pilots from different corners of the globe, making their way along a route across Africa from the island of Crete in Greece to Cape Town, South Africa.

Africa’s Tallest Tree Measuring 81m Found on Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania

It’s definitely a contender. Africa’s tallest indigenous tree – measuring a whopping 81.5 meters – has been discovered in a remote valley on the continent’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro.

The colossus in Tanzania has matched Africa’s previous tree-height record established by a specimen of the introduced Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna) in Limpopo, South Africa, which died in 2006.

Andreas Hemp at the University of Bayreuth in Germany first spotted a bunch of tall Entandrophragma excelsum trees while exploring Mount Kilimanjaro’s vegetation 20 years ago. But it was not until recently that he and his team were able to measure their heights accurately using new tools.

They sized 32 specimens with laser instruments between 2012 and 2016, finding that the 10 tallest individuals ranged from 59.2 to 81.5 meters in height and 0.98 to 2.55 meters in diameter. Hemp estimates from growth rates that the arboreal behemoths are between 500 and 600 years old.

The world’s tallest trees are not normally found in Africa: for example, a 116-metre-tall sequoia tree grows in North America, and a 100-metre-tall eucalyptus in Australia.

This is probably a result of both a shortage of studies in Africa, so many trees are overlooked, and the fact that many of the continent’s tree species grow in places where limited resources prevent them from getting too tall.

The latter is not the case at Kilimanjaro, where a combination of nutrient-rich volcanic soils, high temperatures and precipitation has probably helped drive the growth of E. excelsum.

Supporting life

The massive trees play an important role in the mountain’s buzzing ecosystem, harboring ferns and multiple other plants that grow on them for physical support. “They are like a city in the forest,” says Hemp.

But the green giants face the threat of illegal logging, which has plagued their precious habitat. The team therefore suggests that the valleys harboring the giants be included in the neighboring Kilimanjaro National Park for protection.

David Seaborg at the World Rainforest Fund in Walnut Creek, California, supports this view. He points out that protecting the trees could also allow us to preserve the abundance of plants, birds and insects that benefit from their presence.