Simanjiro Conservation Easement

The Simanjiro Conservation Easement is a novel payment for ecosystem services scheme in the Simanjiro Plains of Tanzania, an important wet-season grazing area between Tarangire National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro. This contractual agreement between individual villages and a consortium of tourism vendors obligates local residents to forgo agricultural activities in some areas in return for annual cash payments of 5 million Tanzanian shillings (US$3000 or €2300 as of January 2013) per village.^[1]

Simanjiro Conservation Easement
Location in Tanzania
Location	Simanjiro District
Nearest city	Terrat
Coordinates	3°52′S 36°36′E
Established	2005

It is significant because it is among the first payment for ecosystem services (PES) projects to exclude the involvement of government conservation agencies.^[2]

Expanding crop production had come in conflict with wildlife for some time, leading the regional government to try to restrict cultivation in the plains.^[3]

The scheme started with Terrat in 2004 and 2005.^[4] The village of Sukuro joined later.^[1]