Defending Tanzania's Eastern Arc Montane Forests

The Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) has worked since 1985 to protect the Eastern Arc Mountains, an archipelago of ancient montane and cloud forest recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot with at least 800 endemic plant species. TFCG partners with more than 150 villages across the West and East Usambara, Uluguru, Rubeho and Udzungwa Scarp forests to establish community-managed Village Land Forest Reserves and plant over a million trees a year with local farmers, easing the charcoal and timber pressures degrading the forest. These Eastern Arc forests also act as a critical water tower, supplying water to an estimated 3.5 million Tanzanians downstream.