In 1996 the African Blackwood Conservation Project was founded to address two objectives: 1) restoration of the near-threatened tree species African blackwood (globalgiving.org/projects/save-the-tree-of-music), and 2) restoration of tree cover on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Both objectives plant trees in the Kilimanjaro watershed, the first in the lowland planes surrounding the mountain and the second on the mountain itself . All trees planted sustain the watershed and improve the lives of its inhabitants.
Mt. Kilimanjaro is a major water source for communities and farmers in northern Tanzania. Runoff from its slopes supplies the Pangani River, which powers 3 electrical plants downstream. Because of the fact that a million people live on and farm its lower slopes, during the past century Kilimanjaro has lost 50% of its tree cover from land clearing and wildfires. This has significantly reduced its cloud zone, resulting in less water availability on the mountain and decreased flow into the Pangani.
The ABCP operates a nursery on Kilimanjaro to supply tree species that not only increase tree cover, but supply the subsistence needs of the people for food, fuel, medicine, and construction material. It collaborates with schools by supplying tree species that are planted on school grounds, and initiates educational programs to teach pupils the principles of conservation. Periodic tree-planting campaigns are held for replanting trees on degraded river banks and burned-out areas on the mountain.
In addition to the many environmental advantages such as carbon sequestration and climate mitigation that added tree cover provides, in a country such as Tanzania, having access to fuel and food producing trees can greatly decrease a family's economic burden. ABCP's educational activities will also have long-term effect by instilling an awareness of environmental stewardship that will be passed down through generations, and the trees themselves will replenish stocks of those that have been lost.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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