In March 2026, contractors built a wall along the edge of the Ngezi-Vumawimbi Forest Reserve on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, marking the boundary of what appears to be the site of the planned Mantuli luxury resort within the reserve. According to sources Mongabay spoke to, no further work has taken place since the wall was completed in the first half of 2026. It stands in the very northwest of the island, between a former rubber plantation and land used by local communities for homes and fields of crops like cassava and sweet potatoes. The forest reserve boundary lies just beyond the community land. Ngezi-Vumawimbi is surrounded by 10 villages, with a combined population of more than 20,000 people, according to Tanzania’s 2022 census. Members of surrounding communities enter the reserve to collect firewood and wild fruit, as well as to tend their ancestors’ graves and perform other spiritual practices. Research has established that rural communities across Pemba Island derive around a third of their annual income from forest resources; around Ngezi, the forest notably provides residents with income from the bungo fruit (Saba comorensis), which locals harvest for sale between July and late September. The moist forests of Ngezi host unique species of animals and plants. Image courtesy of Emily Tanganelli. Risk to biodiversity In September 2025, a number of conservationists and researchers published an open letter opposing the Mantuli project in the journal Science. They said the project risked damaging the 1,500-hectare (3,700-acre) Ngezi-Vumavimbi forest reserve, one of East Africa’s most…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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