East Usambara Mountains in NE Tanzania are a part of the globally important Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal forests biodiversity hotspot, which is severely threatened by unsustainable exploitation by fast growing human population. The overall goal of this project is improved conservation of the Magoroto and Mlinga forests in the East Usambara Mountains for the benefit of local and international community, with special focus on conservation of the
flagship plant Saintpaulia. This goal is to be achieved through sustainable use of the forest by community based ecotourism. Specific objectives are: to raise awareness of the communities about forest conservation and to train them in forest conservation techniques, to make young people more aware of traditional forest conservation practices and forestrelated cultural heritage, to explore tourism potential of the area and build capacity of the forest adjacent communities in ecotourism development, to initiate tourism marketing (a travel brochure), to document the distribution and health of Saintpaulia and to develop a conservation plan for the Saintpaulia in the area.
This is a new project but it is based on the lessons learned from the previous work in the area, notably two recent projects, the East Usambara Conservation Area Management Programme (EUCAMP) and the small pilot Saintpaulia Conservation Project of the Finnish Saintpaulia
Society. The EUCAMP initiated ecotourism development in the East Usambara, but after its phasing out, there has been little progress and benefits to local communities remain marginal. In the pilot Saintpaulia Conservation Project, it was observed that the African violet sites located near forest borders were threatened by recurrent fires and disturbance to vegetation caused by human activities. It was also found out that many of the sites would serve as interesting tourist attractions because of their natural beauty and association with local spiritual traditions. The interviewed local people were interested in developing ecotourism, but stated the need for assistance such as training and resources. The project is planned to start in January 2007 and continue for about one year. Main partner institutions for the project will be Muheza District, Tanga Regional Catchment Forest Office and Amboni Sisal Properties Ltd., the owner of the Magrotto Estate.
