Through its collaboration with the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), ARC supports conservation and community development in 140 villages throughout Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal forests.

Tree Planting & Fuel Efficiency

Communities in the Eastern Arc Mountains depend heavily on wood for their livelihoods. But entire ecosystems are being destroyed through the unsustainable and illegal cutting of trees. ARC has partnered with TFCG to plant over 10 million trees throughout the Eastern Arc to date, with the goal of planting an additional three million by 2012. These trees are used for firewood and timber, which allows the old growth forests of the Eastern Arc to remain standing. To ensure sustainable use of newly planted trees, the introduction of fuel-efficient cook stoves is an important project component. These stoves reduce household wood consumption by up to 50 percent when compared to the traditional three-stone stove that is common in Tanzania. Approximately 2,000 households have already switched to these high efficiency stoves through the ARC-TFCG partnership. 

Environmental Education

To ensure the long-term sustainability of the Eastern Arc, it is important to give youth the tools and knowledge to conserve and restore their forests for generations to come. Through ARC’s partnership with TFCG, over 200 primary and secondary schools now have environmental education as part of their core curriculum. Many of these schools also run tree nurseries onsite, providing educational opportunities for students and income for rural schools.

Livelihoods

To discourage dependence of livelihood practices that threaten the future of the forests – such as illegal logging, charcoal production, and converting the forest into agricultural land – ARC supports alternative enterprises like fishponds, bee keeping, and butterfly farming to enable local people to support themselves and their families through sustainable income activities that leverage renewable natural resources.