TUSK AWARD FOR CONSERVATION IN AFRICA RECIPIENT 2025
Rahima Njaidi
Tanzania
Rahima Njaidi is honoured for her transformative leadership in community-based forest management, her tireless advocacy for land rights and gender equality, and her pioneering work to secure the future of Tanzania’s forests through people-led conservation.
Born in Dodoma, Tanzania, Rahima grew up listening to her grandfather’s stories warning against cutting down trees, tales that instilled a deep respect for nature and the belief that forests were sacred places to be protected, not exploited. These stories shaped her values from, embedding a reverence for the natural world and the communities who depend on it.
Rahima founded MJUMITA in 2007, Tanzania’s only community-led forest conservation network, to give rural communities a voice in managing and protecting their natural resources.
Under Rahima’s leadership, MJUMITA operates across nearly two million hectares of forest, advocating for the rights of local people to manage and benefit from their natural resources. Her team of staff alongside community volunteers work tirelessly to strengthen local forest governance, establish village land-use plans, and develop sustainable livelihoods that reduce deforestation. MJUMITA’s network also empowers women and indigenous communities to play active roles in decision-making.
Through her courage, compassion, and belief in people, Rahima Njaidi has redefined conservation in Tanzania. Her work embodies the values celebrated by the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa – leadership, inclusivity, and the enduring strength of communities protecting the planet’s most vital ecosystems.
“This recognition is not just mine. It belongs to the local communities I serve, the women rising in leadership, and the forests that continue to give us life. It reminds me that even the quiet, grassroots work we do in remote villages, under trees, matters.”
