Tanzanian conservationists are mourning the tragic death of renowned plant expert Aloyce Mwakisoma, who played a critical role in forest restoration and recently helped identify and describe a giant new species of rainforest tree. Mwakisoma, 45, was struck and killed by a bus on Oct. 6 near the village of Sanje, in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains. It was on the same day he had visited family members to share news about his imminent church wedding to longtime partner Salma Jabili. Mwakisoma was born and raised in the Kilombero Valley, near the Udzungwa Mountains, an isolated massif in eastern Tanzania that’s part of a chain known as the Eastern Arc. As the son of a hunter, Mwakisoma acquired a profound knowledge of the region’s plants and animals. When hunting was formally outlawed, following the establishment of Udzungwa Mountains National Park in 1992, Mwakisoma’s father, Langsom, became a research assistant, working with scientists studying the massif’s treasure trove of biodiversity. As a young boy, Mwakisoma would accompany his father and the researchers. Aloyce Mwakisoma, left, and Pastory Njekela, former nurseries manager at Udzungwa Corridor, working on plans for future seed collections for the reforestation project. Image courtesy of Andrea Bianchi. Mngeta Valley, Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. Image by Andrea Bianchi. He later became a research assistant himself. During one notable early assignment 15 years ago, Mwakisoma was tasked with following a troop of Udzungwa red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus gordonorum) on a daily basis. One afternoon, during the hottest time of the day, both he…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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