Between the years 1990 and 2010, Tanzania lost 19.4 % – around eight million hectares – of its forest cover. To reverse this trend, this reforestation project based in the Southern highlands of Tanzania rebuilds pine and eucalyptus forests in the Uchindile and Mapanda districts, while actively supporting local communities. Before the project started, the area featured degraded grassland with significantly lower carbon sequestration capacity than an established forest. Using sustainable harvesting practices, the project builds a base forest cover and constantly maintains capacity for further forest regeneration.
Project activities support four villages with more than 1,000 households ensuring employment for more than 340 people. The project developer is keen on improving social conditions of participating communities such as constructing wells to provide villagers with better access to water and improving infrastructure for schools and their hospital. Further social development activities include women entrepreneurship trainings or seedling distribution to neighbouring communities.
What makes this project stand out:
- Empowering local economies through additional employment opportunities
- Establishing schools for future generations of Uchindile and Mapanda
- First local maternity ward for the area
- Transforming barren lands into climate-Resilient forests
