The project  was designed and implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Tanzania Program to build capacity and knowledge for Tanzania to participate actively in REDD+ activities, with a focus on the montane forests of the Southern Highlands. The stated purpose of the project was  “to   design   and   carry   out a robust   baseline   study   to   provide   methods   for   estimating deforestation, carbon sequestration, emissions and leakage in southwest Tanzania’s four most important  forests  covering  52,680 hectares”. In  addition  to contributing  to  the  development  of tools and collection of data for carbon monitoring, the project also aimed to reach over 100,000 people  through  economic  incentives  and  address  the  drivers  of  deforestation  through  education and woodlot establishment. According to the project document it was anticipated that the project would provide an estimate of the levels of emission reductions that could be expected should the target forests be included in a national level REDD+ initiative. The project covered forests and 40 communities within the existing long-term sites of WCS and included Mt Rungwe Nature Reserve, Mporoto Ridge Forest Reserve, Livingstone Forest within Kitulo National Park in Mbeya Region and Mbizi catchment forest reserve in Rukwa Region.

Final Review of REDD+ Pilot Projects in Tanzania Report No. 3.