location: Tanzania

location: Tanzania

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Tanzania’s tree-climbing hyraxes have adapted to life without trees
Despite their name, tree hyraxes — small, furry, nocturnal African mammals — don’t always live in trees. In Tanzania’s Pare mountains, near the border with Kenya, they’ve adapted to life on steep rocky outcrops as forests disappeared over the centuries, a recent study has found. Eastern tree hyraxes (Dendrohyrax validus) are known to inhabit the […]
New study splits giraffe experts on future wild captures for zoos
- Hybridization of captive giraffes in North American zoos may impact conservation, given the recent scientific consensus that giraffes are four distinct species, not a single species as previously thought.
- The study recommends international collaboration in future breeding programs, in which giraffes would be captured from the wild in Africa and moved to North American zoos to essentially start a captive-breeding program of genetically pure individuals.
- But giraffe conservationists say the study’s recommendations would be detrimental to wild conservation, arguing that capturing giraffes for zoos would deplete wild populations.

Tanzanian community-led innovation wins global award for boosting conservation
- An initiative that enables village leaders to make informed decisions that balance livestock production, wildlife conservation, and ecosystem health has been recognized globally.
- The Sustainable Rangelands Initiative (SRI) is being implemented in Northern and Central Tanzania, in Simanjiro, Babati, Longido, Same, Monduli, Ngorogoro, and Mwanga districts, which are crucial for livestock and wildlife activities.
- Through the initiative, local grazing committees and trained community grassland monitors use digital tools such as mobile phones to collect information about sources of water, vegetation cover, grass growth rates and soil health, as well as invasive species.
- The data collected is channeled to central village level technology centers and used to guide grazing plans based on evident trends. Since many villages experience network challenges, the system is designed to enable users collect data when offline and upload it once the network is available.

East African court dismisses controversial oil pipeline case in setback to communities
On Nov. 26, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) dismissed an appeal filed by four African NGOs, marking the end of a landmark case against the construction of a contentious oil pipeline. The case against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), expected to become the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world, […]
Zanzibar’s ‘solar mamas’ are trained as technicians to help light up communities
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) — Around half of Zanzibar’s population of 2 million people live unconnected from the electricity grid. But one program is training local women as solar power technicians to help light up Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago. The Barefoot College International program is helping communities move on from smoky kerosene lamps. The lamps can cause […]
Zanzibar must act to conserve its natural & cultural heritage for the future (commentary)
- The popular Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar is further expanding its already extensive tourism footprint to outlying islands like Pemba without considering the environment, a new op-ed argues.
- Major conservation problems include demolition of small islands for resort construction, destruction of nearly a quarter of Pemba Island’s flagship protected area to build an “eco-resort,” and plans to develop the ecologically important islet of Misali.
- “Now is the time for Zanzibar’s government to reexamine past and future investment decisions to ensure they respect Zanzibar’s natural heritage and conserve it for future generations,” the author writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Aloyce Mwakisoma, keeper of forest knowledge in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, has died at 45
He was born in the forests that would later define his life. In Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley, where mist drifts down from the Udzungwa Mountains, young Aloyce Mwakisoma learned the names of plants before he could read their Latin equivalents. His father, once a hunter, became a research assistant after hunting was outlawed in the 1990s, […]
Tanzanian conservationists mourn death of plant expert Aloyce Mwakisoma
- Aloyce Mwakisoma, a renowned plant expert from Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, was struck and killed by a bus on Oct. 6 near the village of Sanje.
- Mwakisoma, who was born and raised in the Udzungwas, had an encyclopedic knowledge of the plants and animals found in his home in the Eastern Arc.
- His colleagues recognized him as one of the many local experts whose indigenous knowledge powerfully informs the description and protection of the continent’s biodiversity.

Scientists rethink Serengeti migration numbers with satellite, AI tools
- An AI-powered satellite survey has found that the number of wildebeests migrating across Kenya and Tanzania annually might be less than half of the million-plus figure that’s widely touted.
- The authors of the study said their findings underscore the need to calibrate the findings from different surveying methods in order to accurately estimate wildebeest numbers.
- The wildebeest migration is one of the largest mammal migrations in the world, with the animals migrating 800 kilometers (500 miles) in search of better grass.
- Estimating accurate numbers of migrating wildebeests is essential to keep track of the population in the face of habitat loss and increased human presence.

Jane Goodall (1934–2025): primatologist, conservationist, and messenger of hope
- Jane Goodall, who began her career in 1960 with little formal training, transformed science’s understanding of chimpanzees and in the process reshaped the boundary between humans and animals. Her discoveries at Gombe forced the recognition of animal minds, emotions, and cultures once thought unique to humanity.
- She built on that science with activism: founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, launching community-centered conservation programs across Africa, and creating sanctuaries for orphaned chimps. In 1991 she established Roots & Shoots, which grew into a vast youth movement spanning more than 100 countries.
- Beyond research and institutions, she became a global messenger, traveling up to 300 days a year to speak with audiences ranging from heads of state to schoolchildren planting trees. She insisted that empathy and objectivity could coexist and called on each person to remember that “every day you live, you make some kind of impact.”
- She described humanity as standing at the mouth of a dark tunnel with a star shining at the end—hope. To reach it, she said, required collective effort. That conviction defined her legacy: a life that reminded the world that hope is not wishful thinking but a discipline, and that every individual makes a difference.

Satellite images reveal oil project surge in Ugandan park and wetland
New satellite analysis shows that wells and roads for a project in Uganda feeding Africa’s longest heated oil pipeline have progressed significantly within a protected area and near a critical wetland. The Tilenga oil field marks the starting point of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, currently under construction by the French multinational TotalEnergies. The […]
How AI helps conservationists better understand and protect giraffes
- Scientists have deployed artificial intelligence models to identify and re-identify endangered giraffes in Tanzania.
- The Wild Nature Institute partnered with Microsoft’s AI For Good Lab to launch Project GIRAFFE which uses open-source AI tools to identify and re-identify individual giraffes based on spot patterns on their bodies.
- The data has helped scientists come up with estimates on survival and reproduction rates, movements, and behavior of the animals.

A forest garden project attempts to expand into the Sahel
- A project in the Sahel and East Africa claims to fight both soil erosion and poverty through regenerative agroforestry.
- U.S.-based NGO Trees for the Future (TREES) trains farmers in what it calls the forest garden approach, an ancient model to plant diverse species next to each other.
- The approach is one of seven selected by the U.N. as a world restoration flagship program and aims to scale up massively to plant a billion trees by 2030.
- However, some experts say the potential for scaling up is limited, especially in the semiarid Sahel region, given the need for easily accessible sources of water.

Abuses continue at Tanzanian national park, US human rights group says
The Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) continues to prevent villagers from farming or herding cattle in an area marked for expansion of a national park, the U.S.-based Oakland Institute said in a report released July 1. Ruaha National Park is the site of a long-running dispute between roughly 80,000 people who live in the proposed […]
Seaweed farming as an eco-friendly alternative for Tanzanian fishing communities
Climate change, overfishing and habitat loss have caused a sharp decline in fish stocks around Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania. To find a new income from the sea, women from Pemba are turning to sustainable seaweed farming, Mongabay’s video team reported in May. Seaweed farming was introduced to the island in 1989. It […]
Tanzania’s Mafia Island eyes sea cucumber farming to prevent extinction
Residents of Mafia Island in Tanzania don’t really eat sea cucumber; they call it jongoo bahari, or “ocean millipede” in Swahili. But sea cucumbers are a prized delicacy in East Asia, where demand has fueled a black market for the spiny sea creatures, Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo reported in May. A kilogram of dried sea cucumbers […]
Protecting Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains means putting communities at the center of conservation
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 […]
Coral reefs and seagrass get new protections off Tanzania’s Pemba Island
Tanzania will establish two new marine protected areas off the eastern coast of Pemba Island in the semiautonomous region of Zanzibar, the fisheries minister for Zanzibar announced at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, on June 10. Zanzibar’s minister for blue economy and fisheries, Shaaban Ali Othman, said at the conference that the […]
Down on the ranch with Mafia Island’s free-range sea cucumbers
- Sea cucumbers are prized as a delicacy in East Asia and used in some forms of traditional medicine.
- Because of the high demand for them, their populations have fallen off a cliff in Tanzania and elsewhere, landing many species on the IUCN’s red list.
- After banning exports from mainland Tanzania in 2003, the government has recently begun to encourage sea cucumber farming and ranching.

Building a future from seaweed in coastal Tanzania
PEMBA ISLAND — Tanzania. The coastal communities on Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania, have long depended on the rich marine resources of the Indian Ocean. But in recent years, fish stocks have declined due to overfishing, habitat loss, and the impacts of climate change. Many have had to seek new ways to earn […]
Giant rats trained to sniff out illegal wildlife trade
From land mine detection to sniffing out illegally trafficked wildlife parts, a group of trained African giant pouched rats in Tanzania is proving a valuable partner for humans, Mongabay’s Lucia Torres reported in February. In the 1990s, Belgian industrial engineer Bart Weetjens was exploring ways to detect land mines when he thought of rats: they’re […]
New strategy launched to protect Tanzanian biodiversity hotspot
- A conservation strategy for the next 20 years has been launched to protect Tanzania’s most biologically rich landscape.
- The Udzungwa Mountains are home to rare and endemic plants and animals, including a small population of kipunjis, a genus of monkeys only revealed to the world in 2006.
- Sustainable financing is being sought to fund the conservation strategy and boost livelihoods and social well-being in communities surrounding three core protected areas.
- A key part of the strategy will be the rollout of energy-efficient stoves, seen as a priority by local communities who depend on firewood and charcoal.

Chain-link fencing protects livestock from big cat attacks in Tanzania: Study
- Livestock farmers in the environs of Ruaha National Park in Tanzania have to remain vigilant at night to protect their animals from lion and leopard attacks in an area hosting 10% of the world’s wild lions.
- But a study reveals that fortified enclosures in neighborhoods can protect livestock from carnivore attacks, benefiting both the owners and their neighbors.
- Researchers discovered that predators avoid neighborhoods when pastoralists construct corrals using chain-link fencing, a more effective method than traditional African boma fences made of thorny bushes.
- Carnivores in neighborhoods with multiple enclosures face “more work,” making it difficult to pull animals out. The fences reduce availability and attractiveness, leading carnivores to avoid neighborhoods with high-density fortifications, according to Jonathan Salerno, the study’s lead author.

Tanzania’s marine reserves offer long-term benefits to communities, study finds
- The Tanzanian government established five marine protected areas (MPAs) in the 1990s to safeguard falling fish populations.
- Over nearly 20 years, villages near these protected areas became less dependent on fishing and agriculture and saw their standard of living rise faster than communities farther away, a new study shows.
- The authors didn’t find evidence that MPAs impacted fishing success in nearby settlements.
- They hypothesized that the MPAs lifted local economies by attracting tourists.

‘3,000 year-old’ trees in Tanzania are new species
- A group of botanists has discovered a new species of rainforest tree in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains.
- A total of around 100 mature trees were found growing in two village land forest reserves surrounded by abandoned croplands, and initial assessments suggest some of them could be up to 3,000 years old.
- The team behind the discovery says the trees are vulnerable to extinction because of their low numbers and tiny distribution.
- But the area in which they were found is the site of a forest restoration project, giving hope for their long-term survival.

From Kenya to Madagascar, massive effort aims to put seagrasses on the map
In 2019, scientists set out to map the extent of seagrass in Seychelles, an island nation off the eastern coast of Africa. There, they hit upon a startling number: More than 90% of the country’s “blue carbon,” or the carbon stored in marine ecosystems, is contained within seagrass meadows. Under the Large-scale Seagrass Mapping and […]
African NGOs appeal judgement in controversial oil pipeline case
Four NGOs recently appealed to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to have their concerns about a contentious oil pipeline heard on merit. The landmark case, filed four years ago, had previously been dismissed on technical grounds. The four East African NGOs — the Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT) and the […]
Forest of rare trees in Zanzibar now earmarked for ‘eco-resort’
- Botanists surveying a remote forest reserve on Pemba Island in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago have discovered a forest of rare trees — the only place in Africa where they’re known to occur in the wild.
- The botanical survey, the first of its kind in 35 years, has shed light on Ngezi Forest Reserve’s rich plant biodiversity.
- But the section of intact coastal forest where the Intsia bijuga trees grow is earmarked for a new “eco-resort.”
- The forest’s status as a reserve has not been withdrawn, meaning any developments within its boundaries could be illegal.

How to train giant rats to fight wildlife trafficking?
MOROGORO, Tanzania – Rats have long been misunderstood, often seen as pests rather than pals. However, the African giant pouched rat, the largest in the world, possesses special qualities that have caught the attention of a group of scientists in Tanzania. These experts believe rats can be crime-fighting allies against wildlife trafficking. This innovative approach […]
Meet the giant rats fighting wildlife trafficking
- Scientists are training the first generation of rats in Tanzania to detect illegal wildlife trafficked products.
- Their research shows that African giant pouched rats can locate concealed wildlife products such as pangolin scales, rhino horns and ivory in shipments.
- This innovative approach could reshape antitrafficking efforts and shed new light on the illegal wildlife trade.

African nations commit to electricity for 300 million people by 2030
The heads of 30 African nations have endorsed a plan to provide “reliable, affordable and sustainable” electricity to 300 million people across the continent over the next five years. The leaders signed the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration at the “Mission 300” energy summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this week. The mission was […]
World Bank cancels $150m tourism project in Tanzania after abuse claims
The World Bank has cancelled a $150 million project to boost tourism to Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, following allegations of human rights abuses by park authorities. Under the Tanzanian government’s plans to expand Ruaha, 21,000 local people could be displaced. The Oakland Institute, a U.S.-based advocacy group, called the decision to cancel the project a […]
‘An oval with legs’: In search of Tanzania’s tiny island antelope
- On Zanzibar’s second-largest island, Pemba, lives a diminutive antelope that hasn’t been officially recorded in at least 20 years.
- Its long absence has fueled fears the animal may have been exterminated from Ngezi Forest Reserve by hunters.
- In early December, a group of scientists and conservationists set up camera traps to try to find signs that this subspecies of the tiny blue duiker is still alive.

Growing conservation and community: Interview with Ngezi reserve chief
- Khamis Ali Khamis has a long career in community-led conservation in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago, the last six years of them in charge of Ngezi Forest Reserve on the island of Pemba.
- He says the main challenge facing the 2,900-hectare (7,200-acre) reserve is maintaining a balance between nature conservation and resource extraction by the growing human population living around it.
- “The use of natural resources is always increasing, so we need to find an alternative way” to provide local livelihoods, Khamis tells Mongabay in an interview.
- He emphasizes the importance of planting the message of conservation in youths to help build a community that ultimately supports conservation.

Gum-eating Tanzanian monkey is AWOL, fueling extinction fears
- There have been no confirmed sightings of Tanzania’s critically endangered southern patas monkeys for more than a year, raising fears the species is edging ever closer to extinction.
- In 2021, there were estimated to be fewer than 200 southern patas monkeys left in the wild, restricted to the western portion of Serengeti National Park.
- Researchers have appealed to members of the public to record sightings of the shy but distinctive animals, but only two separate sightings were made in 2022, one in 2023, and none so far in 2024.
- The species is due to be featured in the IUCN’s Primates in Peril, a list of the world’s 25 most endangered primates, for the second year running.

How German government funds are used to dispossess Tanzania’s Maasai in Serengeti land grab
- The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), a conservation NGO that receives funding from the German government, funded and equipped Tanzanian authorities who violently evicted Maasai pastoralists from the eastern outskirts of Serengeti National Park in 2017 and 2022.
- The NGO provided equipment, including vehicles and airplanes, to the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) authority; supported a plan to relocate Maasai residents; and funded TANAPA rangers whom the Maasai accuse of unfairly seizing their cattle.
- Conservation authorities and researchers say the growing human and livestock populations on the fringes of the park are putting dramatic pressure on wildlife in the iconic Serengeti, though conservationists say there are also additional factors impacting wildlife.
- FZS said it has supported TANAPA since 2015 to the tune of 18.6 million euros ($19.7 million), but that it’s “not involved, directly or indirectly, in any resettlement activities.”

Legal battle against controversial oil pipeline faces another setback
A critical legal case filed by four East African NGOs against a controversial oil pipeline is facing yet another delay, but the NGOs say they remain hopeful. “What we need is for the court to hear the case on its merit, and we believe we have presented good evidence,” Dickens Kamugisha, CEO of the Africa […]
Vulture poisonings in the Serengeti alarm conservationists
- Over the past two years, three significant vulture poisoning events in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park have claimed the lives of more than 400 vultures.
- Conservationists identified the deaths using satellite tags, discovering birds without heads and feet alongside evidence of targeted poaching.
- Poisoning for “belief-based use” is driving vulture losses in other parts of the continent, particularly in West Africa.
- Conservationists fear that demand may now be rising in Tanzania as well.

For Tanzania’s Maasai, adapting to climate change may mean less livestock, more trees
- An NGO working with Maasai pastoralists in northern Tanzania says its efforts to restore tree cover in the semiarid region and offer alternative forms of livelihood in the face of climate change impacts are bearing fruit.
- TACCEI promotes tree planting and better management of water resources by community members, and helps local government officials integrate consideration of climate change into development policies and strategies.
- Tanzania’s Simanjiro district experienced a 20-year spell of poor rainfall starting in the early 2000s, during which the largely pastoralist population has seen its livestock herds shrink and die out.
- By helping community members to start cultivating vegetables and fruit trees and take up beekeeping and craft making, TACCEI aims to build up community resilience to the worst impacts of climate change.

Ahead of COP16, groups warn of rights abuses linked to ‘30×30’ goal
- In October, Indigenous leaders, government representatives, scientists and activists will meet at COP16, the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, in Colombia, where discussions on plans to expand protected area coverage are expected to take center stage.
- The 30 by 30 goal, which calls for 30% of Earth’s land and sea to be conserved by 2030, continues to be criticized by several human rights organizations who say its lack of clarity on where and how to expand protected areas may result in human rights abuses and forced evictions.
- In a new report by the Oakland Institute, researchers highlighted some of the implications of protected area expansion on the Batwa Indigenous community in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including abuses by rangers and soldiers.
- Advocates say the COP16 discussions should include clear indicators to track respect of human rights and integrate locally led conservation initiatives that fit within the sociocultural context of each country, rather than top-down approaches.

US govt watchdog: Human rights still at risk in overseas conservation aid
- In July, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a review of human rights standards in conservation-related aid grants.
- The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency attached to the U.S. Congress. The House Committee on Natural Resources asked it to review aid funding in the wake of a scandal over human rights abuses in the Congo Basin.
- The review looked at grants given out by the U.S. State Department, USAID, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conservationists in Africa, and included site visits to projects in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- The final report highlighted weaknesses in monitoring and self-reporting requirements for grantees and said there was a risk of abuses going unnoticed by U.S. government agencies.

Maasai women struggle to survive amid forced evictions in conservation area
- In 2022, the government of Tanzania began relocating Indigenous Maasai pastoralists from their ancestral home inside and near Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
- Locals say they’ve been forcibly evicted from their land and denied access to grazing areas for livestock and basic social services including health care, education and the right to vote.
- Maasai women have been profoundly affected, some turning to prostitution to survive once communities fell apart.

Meet the Miombo, the largest forest you’ve never heard of
- The Miombo woodlands are a dry deciduous forest spanning 1.9 million square kilometers (726,000 square miles) across Central and Southern Africa.
- Rural communities across the region depend heavily on the woodlands for building materials as well as a large variety of non-timber forest products including fruits, honey, mushrooms, medicine and more; the Miombo is also a significant source of firewood and charcoal, with fuelwood making up three-quarters of energy-use in the region.
- Population growth, agricultural expansion and increasing demand for fuelwood are the primary drivers of deforestation in the Miombo.
- A new initiative spearheaded by the Republic of Mozambique’s President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi aims to reverse deforestation of the Miombo and promote sustainable resource development.

Luxury hunting firm linked to decades of poaching in Tanzania, whistleblowers say
- Whistleblowers speaking to Mongabay have reported instances of poaching over decades linked to a luxury hunting firm catering to UAE elites and royals.
- The insiders have experience working at Ortello — sometimes spelled Otterlo — Business Corporation (OBC), a UAE-based company that runs shoots in Loliondo, northern Tanzania.
- Tanzanian authorities have served waves of eviction notices affecting Maasai herders in and around Loliondo, as part of efforts to expand hunting and safari tourism.

Maasai block tourist road protesting forced eviction from ancestral land
In the early hours of Aug. 18, thousands of Indigenous Maasai people blocked the road to one of Tanzania’s biggest tourist attractions, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), in protest against the forced eviction from their ancestral land and denial of basic rights, 15 individuals were arrested. The Maasai have legal rights to their land in the […]
Saving Lake Victoria from plastic: Interview with Kenya’s teenage Muchilwa siblings
- Kenyan siblings Michelle and Jeremy Muchilwa (19 and 16, respectively) are examples of a growing global youth movement to fight environmental threats and climate change in their communities.
- When schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the brother and sister sought opportunities to educate themselves about technology and planetary ecosystems; the duo eventually founded Osiepe Sango (Friends of Lake Victoria) to address plastic pollution, and their endeavors today include multiple youth programs, an app that tracks plastic pollution and an underwater drone that collects plastic waste in Lake Victoria.
- As teenagers, the two have won multiple awards for their work, including the National Geographic Young Explorer Award, Diana Award and recognition from the Planeteer Alliance.
- Michelle and Jeremy Muchilwa talked with Mongabay in June about their inspirations, their work and hopes for the future.

Chatterbox chimps converse just like humans (but with more gestures)
- Across human languages and cultures, conversing involves listening to the speaker and rapidly responding to them. This phenomenon, known as turn-taking, has so far been associated with human languages.
- A new study that analyzed conversations between five groups of chimpanzees finds that one of our closest relatives also take rapid turns in their chatter, mainly involving gestures. Chimpanzees take about 200 milliseconds between gestures before responding back and forth, just like humans.
- While researchers observed minor differences in the timing across groups, the findings suggest this is a species-wide phenomenon that can possibly be seen in all apes.
- The findings suggest that turn-taking during conversations likely evolved before languages were born.

Trophy hunting of Amboseli’s super-tuskers in Tanzania sparks outrage, calls for a ban
- Trophy hunters in Tanzania killed at least five male elephants with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms). These iconic residents of Amboseli National Park in Kenya are known to venture into neighboring Tanzania, which allows trophy hunting.
- Conservationists described a “gentleman’s agreement” that held until early last year, whereby hunters in Tanzania left Amboseli elephants alone when they crossed over into Tanzania.
- The 51-year Amboseli Elephant Research Project is the “longest study of elephants in the world,” making these elephants some of the best known in the world; they’re keenly tracked and intimately known by scientists.
- In a letter published recently in the journal Science, two dozen signatories called for a moratorium on the hunting of elephants from Amboseli National Park that enter Tanzania, saying elephants from this “unique” population must not be hunted “to feed egos or the financial interests of short-term gain.”

‘Extinct’ trees found in Tanzania spark hope for ecosystem recovery
- Conservationists in eastern Tanzania have found two specimens of a rare tree feared to be extinct.
- Millettia sacleuxii was only known from six specimens in forest reserves that have almost disappeared.
- Thousands of seeds have been collected and seedlings raised, and these are due to be planted out as part of a reforestation project in the Nguru Mountains.
- The two surviving Millettia “mother trees” were found near an area that conservationists hope to soon turn into a wildlife corridor.

African markets tackle food insecurity and climate change — but lack investment
- Global food insecurity has risen substantially across the world due to extreme weather events, climate change and conflict.
- A new report by IPES-Food shows how territorial markets, which are embedded in the culture of African communities, can increase food security and boost climate resilience.
- According to researchers, territorial markets are more accessible and affordable to low-income populations and are more flexible than supermarkets in providing a diversity of indigenous climate-resilient foods.
- Yet a lack of infrastructure, investment and government support present barriers to territorial markets and their ability to deliver the benefits they can bring.

Forced evictions suppress Maasai spirituality & sacred spaces in Tanzania
- In March, the Tanzanian government issued a new round of eviction notices impacting Maasai communities: The first one was issued in Simanjiro district for the expansion of Tarangire National Park while the second was issued to eight villages for the expansion of the Kilimanjaro International Airport.
- Maasai elders and spiritual leaders say they fear and disapprove of the Tanzanian government’s decision of eviction that has disrupted their spiritual connection with their ancestral lands with about 70 sacred sites impacted since 2009.
- Sacred spaces are the pieces of land, rivers, water sources, oreteti trees, mountains and places designated by their ancestors as areas to carry out specific rituals and ceremonies.
- So far, more than 20,000 Maasai have been evicted from their lands, with some resisting and claiming compensation is dissatisfactory.

Study: Female chimps that don’t leave their birth groups can still avoid inbreeding
- Recent research published on the Ngogo chimpanzees of Kibale National Park shows that female chimps don’t always leave their birth group in search of mating partners, which is considered the norm in most chimpanzee societies.
- Moving to a different social group is a strategy to avoid inbreeding, but to their surprise, researchers found that despite staying back, sexually mature females still manage to steer clear of relations with male relatives. How they do so remains a mystery.
- Primatologists who studied chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park also found that some females choose to remain. In that case, human disturbance and the lack of access to other chimp groups could be responsible for this behavior.
- However, the Ngogo population is large and lives close to other chimp troops, so the chimps have opportunities to leave but choose not to. This raises questions about why, if there are opportunities to breed successfully in their birth groups, do female chimpanzees leave at all?

UNESCO accused of supporting human rights abuses in African parks
- For years, human rights organizations have accused UNESCO of being either inattentive or complicit in the illegal evictions of communities and allegations of torture, rape and murder in several World Heritage Sites.
- These sites include biodiversity hotspots in Africa, including the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania and the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo.
- Although UNESCO is not participating in these human rights abuses itself, organizations say, a few aspects of the agency’s policies and structure allow abuses to happen: lack of solid mechanisms to enforce human rights obligations, its requests for countries to control population growth in heritage sites and the agency’s internal politics.
- UNESCO strongly contests the statements made against the World Heritage Convention and Committee, which has made stronger human rights commitments, and says such multilateral institutions are in fact the best allies to defend human rights.

Activists decry latest arrests of East African oil pipeline opponents
- On June 2, police arrested four villagers in a northwestern district of Tanzania, along the route of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
- The men had all spoken out against the pipeline at a May 25 event organized by civil society groups from Uganda and Tanzania, who say the arrests are part of a pattern of harassment of the project’s opponents.
- Activists and other people affected by the pipeline have been arrested in the past, then released without charge, but sometimes compelled to report regularly to the police.
- The villagers arrested were detained overnight without explanation, and then released without being charged with any crime.

Human rights allegations prompt World Bank to freeze project’s funds in Tanzania
- Nine months after its Inspection Panel registered allegations of gross human rights violations linked to a $150 million project in southern Tanzania, the World Bank has suspended further payments.
- People living near one of the project sites, Ruaha National Park, accuse rangers of killings, sexual assault and livestock seizures as well as preventing farmers from accessing their land in connection with a project aimed at improving management and infrastructure at the park.
- The government has also announced plans to expand the park’s boundaries, a move that residents say will mean 21,000 people will be forcibly resettled.
- The bank has sent a high-level delegation to Tanzania to look into the allegations; a separate investigation into whether the financial institution has failed to monitor and act on violations of its social and environmental policies is ongoing.

UN puts spotlight on attacks against Indigenous land defenders
- At the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, experts called attention to the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples worldwide, exacerbated by intersecting interests in extractive industries, conservation, and climate mitigation.
- While Indigenous peoples are affected by the global trend of using criminal law to dissuade free speech and protests, the bulk of criminalization of Indigenous Peoples happens because of a lack of — or partial implementation of — Indigenous rights in national laws.
- Urgent actions are needed to address systemic issues, including legal reforms, enhanced protections for defenders, and concerted efforts to prevent and reverse the criminalization of Indigenous communities.

Tanzania’s ‘mountain of millipedes’ yields six new species
- Scientists have recently described six new species of millipedes found in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains.
- The six were among thousands of specimens collected by researchers studying forest ecology there and in the nearby Magombera Nature Reserve.
- Magombera was damaged by commercial logging in the 1970s-80s, and affected areas have been overrun by woody vines known as lianas.
- But teams working on the ground think that millipede diversity and abundance in liana thickets is equal to that of undisturbed forests, suggesting they may be dynamic places poised for forest regeneration with minimal human intervention.

Photos: Top species discoveries from 2023
- Scientists described a slew of new species this past year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squid, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons.
- Experts estimate less than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science.
- Although a species may be new to science, it may already be well known to local and Indigenous people and have a common name.
- Many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction as soon as they are found, and many species may go extinct before they are named, experts say.

Control of Africa’s forests must not be sold to carbon offset companies (commentary)
- A forest carbon deal between Blue Carbon and the nation of Liberia would give the company exclusive rights to control 10% of the nation’s land mass for 30 years.
- Blue Carbon has also signed MOUs for similar deals with Tanzania and Zambia (and others) and combined with the Liberia deal, the land controlled by the company in these three African nations represents an area the size of the whole of the United Kingdom.
- “Carbon colonialism is a false solution to the climate crisis,” a new op-ed states. “The only real answer is to end our fossil fuel addiction by dramatically reducing our emissions, while financially supporting countries and local communities to protect their forests, rather than wrest control of them.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Disturbing graves is latest violation attributed to East African oil pipeline
- Faith-based climate justice organization GreenFaith says the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), will disturb at least 2,000 graves along its 1,441-kilometer (895-mile) route from Uganda’s Lake Albert to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.
- Surveys in affected communities found numerous cases where residents said TotalEnergies, the French oil giant leading the project, had disturbed and disrespected the graves of their families and ancestors, despite their best efforts to alert the company to their presence.
- TotalEnergies says the process of identifying and relocating burial sites, and paying compensation to affected people, has been carried out in line with international standards.
- Since its inception in 2017, the EACOP project has been dogged by criticism over its environmental, social and climate change impacts.

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