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Jozani Forest - Zanzibar
Jozani Forest Reserve located 35 km south-east of Zanzibar township in Zanzibar's South Region. Jozani Forest is the largest forest Reserve in Zanzibar.It is a narrow neck of land between the Chwaka Bay in the north and Uzi Bay to the south. It contains about 100 tree species from a total of 43 families. It has a gazzetted area over 2512 ha that includes the whole ground water forest, coral rag forest and salt marsh area. Although until recently only the forest was gazzetted, the area together with the adjacent Chwaka Bay forest have been converted into a reserve known as Jozani Chwaka Bay Conservation Area (JCBCA). The recent move has added the rich mangrove forests of the Chwaka bay into the reserve making the ecosystem the largest conservation area in Zanzibar.

Activities at Jozani started way back in 1920s but in 1940 the colonial government purchased 194 ha of the forest from a private enterpreneur and converted into a reserve. All commercial logging activities were halted and reforestation program was in full swing. However, it is believed that Jozani and the neighbouring forests survived the past due to its unsuitability for cash crop production (e.g. coconuts) as it is located on the coral rag zone. After years of commercial activities in the neighbouring areas, Jozani was officially declared a forest reserve in 1960. The recent expansion were made in 1984 when most of the surrounding areas were gazetted hence bringing the total area to 2512 ha. The inclusion of Chwaka Bay mangrove forest, which has been recognized since 1946 and managed by 8 villages of Chwaka, Pongwe, Uroa, Marumbi, Mapopwe, Charawe, Ukongoroni and Michamvi make the management of the new conservation area a unique participatory model.

Forest types
• Evergreen bushland - found on the western side of Jozani on a coral rag with trees some 4 - 6 m high and dominant species are Rhus spp (e.g. Mchengele and Mkumba) and Psiadia spp ( Mbebeta). A similar bushland is also found in the eastern side of the forest but with many shrub species.
• Dense thicket - covering the northwestern part of the forest with tree height of between 6 and 8 m high and canopy cover of about 60%. Dominant species include Macphersonia gracilis (Mjoma), Eugenia spp, and Cussonia zimmermannii ( Mpapai dume).
• Ground water forest - high, dense forest covering most of the central part of Jozani containing swampy areas, commonly called Tovu, where the dominant species is Callophyllum inophyllum. Tree species grow to about 20 - 25 m high and dense stands of Pandanus rabaiensis (Msanaka) and Elaeis guineensis (Mchikichi ) are found.
• Saline grassland - located on the north of Jozani is covered with scattered trees, locally called "Wangwani", and the dominant species is Annona senegalensis ( Mtopetope).
• Plantation forest is found in the souther part of the forest covering an area of about 11 ha mainly planted with Callophyllum ( Mtondoo).
• Mangrove forests covering much of the eastern border as Jozani come into contact with Chwaka bay. Major mangrove species include Rhizophora mucronata (Mkoko), Ceriops tagal (Mkandaa), and Avicennia marina (Mchu).

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