The Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative (MCDI) promotes forest conservation in Southeastern Tanzania. The initiative helps to find and create opportunities for local communities to benefit from the sustainable management of their forests. Actually MCDI is supporting seven communities covering an area of more than 80.000 hectares of natural Miombo forests. For these forests, legal forest management and harvesting plans have been elaborated and approved. Furthermore, all forest management activities are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified – the first and so far only FSC certificate for community based forest management all over Africa. MCDI & Environmental Africa Trust (EAT) commissioned UNIQUE to carry out a mid-term evaluation of the project and to specifically consider outstanding risks facing the project.

• Mid-term review of project activities and impacts.
• Analysis of the feasibility of MCDI’s work as a self-sustaining social enterprise.
• Review major risks facing the project.
• Point out the most effective ways for village forest governance.