From degraded lands to green prosperity: How Tanzania’s landscape restoration is powering climate resilience, jobs and a new rural economy

MBEYA : I N VILLAGES scattered across the Great Ruaha and Lake Rukwa basins, the signs of change are becoming increasingly visible. Once-degraded forests are gradually recovering. Rivers and watersheds that had deteriorated under pressure from human activities are regaining their ecological function. Farmlands that were once exhausted, farmers are now adopting climate-smart agricultural practices that are restoring productivity while reducing negative environmental impacts. And in communities long burdened by poverty and resource scarcity, new livelihood opportunities are emerging many of them led by women and young people. On farmland that was once exhausted, farmers are now adopting climate-smart agricultural practices that are restoring productivity while reducing environmental harm. And in communities long burdened by poverty and resource scarcity, new livelihood opportunities are emerging many of them led by women and young people. At the centre of this transformation is Tanzania’s Sustainable Landscape Restoration (SLR) Project, a flagship national initiative demonstrating that environmental restoration is not only about repairing ecosystems, but also about rebuilding economies, strengthening resilience, and creating pathways to prosperity. What is emerging is not a single intervention, but a broader shift in thinking: that degraded land is not a permanent liability, but a recoverable asset; that conservation is not separate from development, but central to it; and that rural communities, when empowered with the right tools, can become stewards and beneficiaries of restoration at the same time. A landscape under pressure, and a response decades in the making Tanzania’s natural environment has long been central to its economy and identity. Forests, wetlands, rangelands, and watersheds support agriculture, livestock, energy production, biodiversity, and water systems that millions depend on. But over the past decades, these ecosystems have come under increasing strain. Rapid population growth, expanding agricultural frontiers, overgrazing, deforestation, wildfires, climate variability, insecure land tenure systems, and rising demand for land have combined to accelerate environmental degradation across many regions of the country. The consequences have been significant and far-reaching. Reduced soil fertility has lowered agricultural productivity in many areas. Degraded watersheds have contributed to water scarcity and irregular river flows. Loss of vegetation cover has increased vulnerability to floods, droughts, and climate shocks. Biodiversity has been steadily undermined, affecting ecosystem stability and long-term ecological balance. It is estimated that more than 40 million Tanzanians are affected in one way or another by the impacts of environmental degradation and climate-related challenges. The economic implications are equally serious, with ecosystem loss and degradation estimated to cost the country nearly five percent of its annual Gross Domestic Product. Against this backdrop, the Government of Tanzania, working with development partners, has increasingly shifted focus toward large-scale landscape restoration as a strategic national priority. The Sustainable Landscape Restoration Project is one of the most ambitious expressions of this approach. A flagship initiative for restoration and resilience Officially titled the “Supporting Implementation of Integrated Ecosystems Management Approach for Landscape Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation in Tanzania,” the SLR Project is implemented by the Vice President’s Office in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with technical support from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It also forms part of The Restoration Initiative (TRI), a global programme operating in ten countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroon, China, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). But in Tanzania, the project has taken on a particularly practical and visible form. It is not simply a conservation programme; it is increasingly becoming a development instrument, one that connects environmental restoration directly to livelihoods, local economies, and national development goals, including Tanzania Development Vision 2050. The Vision seeks to build a prosperous, inclusive, competitive, and environmentally sustainable nation. In this context, landscape restoration is not a peripheral activity. It is becoming central to how that future is imagined and pursued. Restoring nature, securing livelihoods The SLR project operates across seven district councils in the Great Ruaha and Lake Rukwa basins, including Iringa, Wanging’ombe, Mbarali, Mbeya, Sumbawanga, Mpimbwe, and Tanganyika. These areas encompass 18 wards and 54 villages, supporting more than two million peopl