The Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative : Links

Our Partner Organisations

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) - the world's oldest international conservation NGO, and the first to show real interest in mpingo.
The Environment Africa Trust (EAT)
The Sound & Fair Campaign
WWF Tanzania Programme Office
The Tanzania Natural Resources Forum (TNRF) - MCDI is a leading member of the Forestry Working Group
The National Forests Programme of the Tanzanian Government
The University of Dar es Salaam
Sokoine University of Agriculture

Mpingo-specific links

Soundwood
An FFI programme concerned with all trees which are used to make musical instruments.
The African Blackwood Conservation Project - an excellent and information-rich site about mpingo, its plight, and Sebastian Chuwa's admirable replanting and education project in Northern Tanzania.
A report on International Trade in African Blackwood produced by FFI.
Timbers used for carving in Kenya - the history of wood-carving in East Africa, and details of an innovative project working to diversify species selection by Kenyan carvers.
Dalbergia melanoxylon: valuable wood from a neglected tree - a brief overview by Dr. Ladislaus Nshubemuki, Director of Forest Production Research at TAFORI.
Trade and Environment Database entry for mpingo
A small inventory of mpingo in Nachingwea District - abstract only of a paper published in African Study Monographs.
A short blog about the making of a radio programme on mpingo.

General miombo links

The Miombo Network - part of the the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and the framework for the IGBP study.
Wilderness Area Factsheet from Conservation International
WWF Ecoregion profile
The Miombo in Transition: Woodlands and Welfare in Africa - an excellent book on miombo by Bruce Campbell, and available on-line from the CIFOR web-site.
A paper on the fire ecology of miombo
An agroforestry project in Malawi
Modelling policy impacts on miombo exploitation (a CIFOR paper)
Socio-economic research topics in miombo management (another CIFOR paper)
Forest Governance in Zambesia, Mozambique: Chinese Takeaway! - a major report on illegal logging in Mozambique to supply the Chinese market.
A short quiz and information page about miombo

Coastal forests links

The Status of Forests in Lindi Region - overview and reports on forests surveyed by Frontier-Tanzania.
East African Forests - the WWF eco-region profile.
The Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic - the WWF full report on the eco-region, with a link to a report on an assessment visit to the new Quirimbas National Park in Mozambique.
The Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests Biodiversity Hotspot - a fact-sheet from Conservation International.
Important Bird Areas in the coastal forests
The Faunal Biodiversity of the coastal forests - a student web-site.

East African Forest Conservation links

The National Forestry Programme of Tanzania
Forest Certification in Mozambique
The Tanzania Forest Conservation Group
The Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania
WWF's Tanzania Programme
TRAFFIC East Africa
Forestry, Governance and National Development - TRAFFIC's ground-breaking report on lessons learned from the logging boom in south-eastern Tanzania.
Bridging the Gap - TRAFFIC's earlier report on the start of the logging boom in south-eastern Tanzania.
Tropical Secondary Forest Management in Tanzania
Collaborative Forest Management in Tanzania: Mgori Forest, a case study
A German-funded Community Forest Management project in Handeni District, Tanzania
The GoodWood Project - working with Kenyan wood carvers
Eastern Arc Mountains portal
The Niassa Reserve in Northern Mozambique

International Forest Conservation links

The Global Trees Campaign
A joint initiative between FFI and UNEP-WCMC; mpingo is one of the trees highlighted.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) oversees the most rigorous forest certification scheme
The Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
The News and background on illegal logging around the world provided by Chatham House
The African Conservation Foundation - a portal to other African conservation web-sites

Some Non-Internet Sources

Here are a few additional sources which we have found useful but which unfortunately are not available over the internet.

Beale, D. (1995) Tree! What tree? An ecological economic approach to producing a sustainable mpingo trade (Dalbergia melanoxylon). A dissertation presented for the degree of Master of Science. University of Edinburgh.
Burgess, N.D. & Clarke, G.P. (editors) (2000) Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
Chidumayo, E.N. (1997) Miombo Ecology and Management. Stockholm Environment Institute.
FBD (2001) Community-Based Forest Management Guidelines. Forestry and Beekeeping Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania.
FFI (1996) The proceedings of the Maputo Workshop; Towards Sustainable Exploitation of Dalbergia melanoxylon, 6-9th November 1995. Fauna & Flora International, UK.
FFI (2001) Sustainable Production of African Blackwood - Dalbergia melanoxylon. Report of the Technical Workshop held in Dar Es Salaam, 8-10th October 2001. Fauna & Flora International, UK.
FFI (2002) Sustainable Production of African Blackwood - Dalbergia melanoxylon. Report of the Technical Workshop held in Pemba, 25th-26th February 2002. Fauna & Flora International, UK.
Lovett, J. (1987) Tree of the month: Dalbergia melanoxylon. Swara 10(2) : 27-28.
Lovett, J. (1988) Mpingo - the African blackwood. Miombo 2 : 3.
Milledge, S.A.H. & Kaale, B.K. (2004) Bridging the Gap: Linking Timber Trade with Infrastructure Development and Poverty Eradication Efforts in Southern Tanzania. TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Moore, K. & Hall, J.E. (1987) Report of a mission to assess the management and conservation of Dalbergia melanoxylon, or the mpingo, in Tanzania. Unpublished report to United Nations Education Programme, Nairobi.
Platt, I. & Evison, S. (1994) In-country investigation into the state of knowledge about the conservation and cultivation status of mpingo (Dalbergia melanoxylon) in Tanzania with notes about Mozambique. Unpublished report to Fauna & Flora International, UK.
Sharman, H. (1995) Investigation into the sustainable management of a tropical timber tree species, using Dalbergia melanoxylon as a case study. A dissertation presented for the degree of Master of Science. University of Edinburgh.