One of the most infamous was the Finnish funded forestry project in the 1980s in East Usambara. The most recently criticised project in the area is the Norwegian-Swedish funded Kihansi Hydropower plant, which threatens the existence of unique animals and plants in the Udzungwa Mountains. Conservation projects were also evident in the Eastern Arc Mountains, such as, the Udzungwa National Park, established some years ago. Sokoine University of Agriculture and Forestry carries out research in the Mazumbai Forest Reserve. The Amani Nature Reserve in the East Usambaras was established recently, supported by the Government of Finland, which has turned from logging in 1980s to conservation in 1990s.
Conservation needs, however, are still far from satisfied.
Population pressure continues to increase and local governments lack the means of preventing environmental degradation. In order to tackle the situation, a group of scientists, conservationists, and decision-makers gathered at the conference in Morogoro in an attempt at reconciling the future needs of all stakeholders in the Eastern Arc. The conference was organised by the Tanzania Forest Research Institute, Sokoine University of Agriculture and Forestry and the University of Dar es Salaam, with support from the Governments of Finland, Denmark and Norway. Dr. Jon Lovett explores the plant life of the Eastern Arc and concludes that the mountains clearly are an area where relict lineages remain, and new ones are born, hence both the great diversity and remarkable endemism. Prof. S. Iddi have written their own chapters for the volume.