Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries.
Conservation efforts often falter on the fault line between ecological ambition and human reality. A new initiative in southern Tanzania seeks to bridge that divide, reports contributor Ryan Truscott for Mongabay.
The Udzungwa Landscape Strategy (ULS), launched in late 2023, is a 20-year plan to safeguard one of Africa’s most biodiverse mountain regions — not just by protecting its forests and wildlife, but by investing in the people who live among them.
The Udzungwa Mountains, part of the Eastern Arc range, are famed for their endemic species, including the shaggy-haired kipunji monkey (Rungwecebus kipunji), the elusive Sanje mangabey (Cercocebus sanjei), and the once-extinct-in-the-wild Kihansi spray toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis). But they have also suffered centuries of forest loss driven by agriculture, logging and plantation expansion. Conservationists now aim not merely to slow deforestation, but to reverse it.
At the heart of the strategy lies a shift in priorities: more than half of ULS’s projected $3 million annual budget is earmarked for community development and reducing human-wildlife conflict. Villages surrounding the protected areas will receive performance-based payments to curb forest loss and poaching. Village savings groups will offer residents access to capital for businesses and essentials like school fees. Fuel-efficient stoves, already distributed in five villages, aim to cut both household costs and pressure on local forests.
Such community-focused approaches can be pragmatic as well as ethical, say supporters.
“Safeguarding these precious forests whilst guaranteeing the sustainable livelihoods of local communities demands a well-planned, well-financed project with ambition,” said Oliver Beasley of the U.K.’s Bristol Zoological Society.
Yet mistrust runs deep. Tanzania’s conservation system, shaped by colonial legacies, often pits park authorities against local residents.
“The officials don’t trust the communities, and community members don’t trust park officials,” noted geographer Mathew Bukhi Mabele.
Bridging that divide will be critical.
Arafat Mtui, ULS’s Tanzanian manager, is candid about the tension — but hopeful. The aim, he said, is “to empower local actors rather than impose external solutions.” Joint patrols, cohosted training, and a focus on local priorities offer a pathway forward.
If the ULS succeeds, it could become a model for how long-term, locally rooted investments can preserve not just nature, but the human relationships essential to its survival.
In the Udzungwa Mountains, conservation is no longer just about saving forests — it’s about restoring trust.
Read the full story by Ryan Truscott here.
Banner image: Udzungwa endemic Sanje mangabey. Image courtesy of Trevor Jones.
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