Tanzania hosts a variety of ecosystems including aquatic (ie. freshwater wetlands, coastal and marine) and terrestrial (ie. forests, savannah, drylands or deserts, and mountains), The services and resources provided by these ecosystems directly and indirectly support the livelihoods of the human population and much of the country’s economy. Although Tanzania is characterized by rich, diverse and distinct terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, modification of habitat due to the demands of demographic and socio-economic processes is exceeding natural carrying capacity of the ecosystems in the country causing disruption of the services they provide and leading to biodiversity loss and degradation in services. Sustainable management of ecosystems and their services depends much on their significance at local level and the way they contribute to wellbeing. Therefore, it is important to value all the relevant ecosystem and ecosystem services those with higher priority based on the extent they contribute to local socio-economic development. Having local prioritization across ecosystems therefore becomes a necessity before ecosystem valuation becomes of any significance contribution to management. Researchers from TCRO in collaboration with other Researcher from Sokoine University of Agriculture and Mwl. Nyerere University conducted social ecological survey to map and prioritize ecosystems and ecosystem services based on the extent they contribute to local socio-economic development. The survey was conducted in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) covering Kilombero cluster, under the implementation of the Development Corridor Partnership Project (https://developmentcorridors.org/)
