Viphya Forest

Viphya Forest is a forest south of Mzuzu, a city in Malawi.[1] It is situated on the Viphya Plateau,[2] amongst the Viphya Mountains. It has an area of 560 km2 and is billed as the largest man made forest in Africa,[3] although Johannesburg also makes this claim. Among the birds to be found in Viphya Forest are the scaly francolin, (Francolinus squamatus), olive woodpecker (Dendropicos griseocephalus), and the red-faced crimson-wing (Cryptospiza reichenovii).[4]

The forest was started in 1964, and the trees were intended to be used for a pulp mill that would create wood pulp for export.[5] However, due to an economic recession, the paper mill was never built.[5]

The forest has been deteriorating in recent years as more trees have been harvested than planted, and it has been ravaged by fires.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Malawi: Fragile Forests". Travel Africa Magazine (17). August 2001. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  2. ↑ "Makomo Safaris for Malawi and Zambia". ast-reisen.de (in German). AST African Special Tours. Archived from the original on August 29, 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  3. 1 2 "Massive malpractices exposed at Viphya –Audit report". Nyasa Times. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Malaŵi Hotspots". African Bird Club. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  5. 1 2 Mwaura, P.; F. M. Kamau. "An overview of forest industry in eastern and southern Africa". fao.org. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2006-12-10.


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