Where
We Work
We work across south-central Tanzania in the globally important ecosystems of Udzungwa and Ruaha-Rungwa. We directly support eight protected areas and work in 60 villages home to 400,000 people.
UDZUNGWA
Ancient forests home to extraordinary biodiversity
The Udzungwa mountains are one of East Africa’s most important conservation areas, its forests home to many species found nowhere else in the world. The Udzungwa mountains host 2,500 plant species, 400 bird species, and 118 mammal species, and are the only Eastern Arc range still home to elephants.The ecosystem services generated by these forests are vital to the agriculture-based economy of >250,000 people living in 71 neighbouring villages.
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3 protected areas covering 3,663 km²
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46% of Tanzania’s endemic vertebrates
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36 villages
STEP works in Uzungwa Scarp Forest Nature Reserve, Kilombero Forest Nature Reserve, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, the Nyerere Selous-Udzungwa Wildlife Corridor, and 36 villages. Our work includes:
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Restoring a wildlife corridor
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Enhancing human-elephant coexistence
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Improving community livelihoods
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Engaging communities through outreach
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Supporting rangers and village game scouts to protect forests
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Monitoring human-elephant interactions
RUAHA-RUNGWA
One of the world's last true wilderness areas
The Ruaha-Rungwa ecosystem (44,000 km²) is one of Tanzania’s largest and most ecologically important landscapes. Its grasslands, woodlands, rivers, and wetlands support 1,700 plant species, 570 bird species, and nearly 200 mammal species. Home to one of East Africa’s largest elephant populations (~15,000), it is a key landscape for elephant conservation. Ruaha-Rungwa’s elephants are still recovering from a 2010–2015 poaching crisis that halved the population.
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44,000 km²
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15,000 elephants
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5 protected areas
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24 villages
STEP works in Ruaha National Park; Rungwa, Kizigo and Muhesi Game Reserves; MBOMIPA Wildlife Management Area; and 24 villages. Our work includes:
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Enhancing human-elephant coexistence
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Improving community livelihoods
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Engaging communities through outreach
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Supporting rangers and village game scouts to protect elephants
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Providing aerial support
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Long-term monitoring of elephants