The Southern Highlands Conservation Program

The Southern Highlands Conservation Program (SHCP) was started by WCS in 2000 to conserve important upland habitats and species across southwest Tanzania. The Highlands lie between Lakes Nyasa/Malawi and Tanganyika on the junction of the eastern and western arms of the Great Rift Valley. Sites of particular interest are plateau grasslands, montane forests and crater lakes including Kitulo Plateau, Mt Rungwe, Livingstone Mts, Mbisi, Mporoto and Mbeya Range. With a staff of 20, the SHCP carries out a variety of research, protected area management support, and community conservation initiatives. Successes include bringing the international trade in orchids to light, involvement in the gazettement of Kitulo Plateau as a new and innovative national park, and comprehensive biodiversity and socio-economic surveys of Mt Rungwe, Kitulo and other unexplored areas. An environmental education component reaches thousands of people targeting schools and village environment committees. The SHCP provides support to District and Regional Governments as well as Tanzania National Parks. Indigenous tree nurseries have been developed in Rungwe, Sumbawanga and Mbeya, and over 150,000 seedlings have been raised and planted. The Program also works with local NGOs in tourism development, awareness raising, fuel efficiency and capacity building. The unique flora and fauna of the Southern Highlands are being characterised through biodiversity surveys of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. The endemic and highly endangered Abbott's Duiker is the focus of a novel conservation strategy targeting hunters, and the distribution, threats and status of all carnivore species are being monitored. Ecological research of important habitats are identifying the key threats to them. Furthermore, in-depth socio-economic studies are helping to determine natural resource use by communities across the region.

For a Southern Highland Conservation Program Brochure in English and KiSwahili (PDF) please click here