Rubeho Mountains Carbon Project

Eden: People + Planet’s Rubeho Mountains Carbon Project protects 260,900 hectares of Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains—a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot—while restoring 10,000 hectares of degraded afromontane forest. This transformative 40-year initiative safeguards the headwaters of both the Wami and Great Ruaha Rivers—critical catchments that support downstream communities, drive national hydropower generation, and underpin food and water security for millions. As pressure on these resources grows, including from rapidly expanding cities like Dar es Salaam, the Rubeho forests may play an increasingly strategic role in ensuring national resilience. 

The project aims to create sustainable livelihoods for over 90,000 community members across 40 villages, and aims to deliver 14 million tonnes of CO₂e  combined emission reductions and removals. By addressing a 10-year deforestation rate of 6% – exceeding Tanzania’s national average – the project seeks to demonstrate how community-centred conservation can protect ancient forests that shelter endemic species and sustain essential ecosystem services at landscape scale.