51,850 Number of people benefiting from AWF's conservation efforts
4 of 5 Wildlife populations supported by AWF that are stable/increasing
Tanzania
Overgrazing by livestock, shifting cultivation, human-wildlife conflict (HWC), and poaching are some of the most serious threats to wildlife and habitat in Tanzania. We operate at the local and national levels to help Tanzanians safeguard biodiversity and implement solutions that offer wins for nature and people.
Our work in three critical landscapes is multi-faceted, reflecting the diversity of challenges and opportunities at hand. Activities include:
- HWC interventions that protect crops, prevent retaliatory attacks on wildlife, and save lives
- Support for restoration and conservation of habitats
- Counter-wildlife-trafficking efforts, including support for cross-border collaboration to fight poaching
- Support for environmental monitoring through training and provisions in state-of-the-art technology
- Sustainable agriculture solutions that make economies work for nature
- Livestock extension services that help integrate Manyara Ranch—a critical wildlife corridor and giraffe breeding ground—into the life of the community
Kilombero
The ecology and biodiversity in Southern Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley are critical at all levels—local, regional, national, and global. The landscape is part of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor, an area that produces more than half of all the food grown in Tanzania. However, climate change and unsustainable land use have largely wiped out large mammal populations, pressure on water sources has intensified, and soil carbon is showing signs of concerning changes.
Kilombero faces critical ecological and development challenges: Both Tanzania’s breadbasket and its biodiversity depend on how the land is worked. Since 2014, we have partnered with local communities and commercial agricultural producers in this vital corridor, helping communities with:
- Land-use planning
- Human-wildlife conflict prevention and mitigation
- Expanding farmers’ use of ecologically and economically viable production technologies
- Improving farmers’ access to financial institutions and markets
- Helping families diversify incomes to develop resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate-change impacts
Farmers in Kilombero have embraced these measures. As a result, they have increased income while reducing pressure on land and water resources.
Maasai Steppe
The Maasai Steppe is an important landscape in northeastern Tanzania, covering approximately 40,000 square kilometers. It includes two national parks—Tarangire and Lake Manyara. The greatest threat in the landscape is habitat fragmentation caused by infrastructure and farming.
Since 2014, we’ve supported local communities and the Tanzanian government in securing the 44,930-acre Manyara Ranch Conservancy, part of a critical wildlife corridor connecting Tarangire National Park to key water sources—Lake Manyara to the west and Lake Natron to the north. Until recently, the Ranch was ravaged by overgrazing and poaching. Since AWF’s intervention, it has become a habitat for elephants, leopards, aardvarks, and elands and a significant corridor for wildebeest migration. And it continues to be a critical breeding ground for giraffes.
Threats remain, however, including agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, and climate change impacts.
Working with local and government partners, we have been able to:
- Reduce human-wildlife conflict through the development of business enterprises that diversify local incomes and through mitigation strategies such as predator-proof bomas
- Improve habitat integrity through effective land-use planning
- Enhance community well-being through strengthened natural-resource management
- Provide conservation education to local school children
Why Wildlife Corridors Are Crucial: Manyara Ranch Featured on Advancements With Ted Danson. Watch below.
Tsavo-Mkomazi
The Tsavo-Mkomazi landscape straddles the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania. It is one of the world’s largest protected areas, home to more than a third of Kenya’s elephants and nearly a fifth of its black rhinos. Stresses include infrastructure development, climate change impacts, and freshwater availability.
Our holistic approach includes the following activities:
- Partnering with communities through collaborative land-use planning, alternative livelihood development, and youth and education programs
- Reducing human-wildlife conflict
- Strengthening park rangers’ eco-monitoring and data collection
- Providing counter-wildlife-trafficking support, including judicial and prosecutorial training
- Supporting cross-border anti-poaching collaboration
These comprehensive strategies prioritize the protection of elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and lions—work that benefits other species as well and safeguards natural resources for current and future generations.
