Tanzania's economy is highly dependent on water resources, whose continued flow is influenced by the health of the countries ecosystems. Agriculture, the largest sector and main source of livelihoods for the majority of the population, is dominated by rainfed farming and livestock, both of which are severely affected by unreliable rainfall and poor water management. Tourism and fisheries, the two largest sources of foreign exchange earnings, are dependent on healthy ecosystems, whose integrity in turn depends on water flows. Although the country is endowed with sufficient freshwater resources to meet its current water needs, it faces complex challenges in balancing demand from multiple users (domestic water for basic human needs; ecosystem goods and services for livelihoods; irrigation; and hydropower) and both have evidence of detrimental impacts from insufficient environmental flows in the past. The unsustainable use of water is mirrored by the unsustainable use of land coupled with unsustainable production practices. Many watersheds face moderate to severe deforestation and overgrazing pressures, corresponding to high rates of erosion, increasing soil salinity, lowered soil fertility, and loss of biodiversity. Degradation is undermining ecosystem functions and services and the welfare of rural people dependent upon these services for their subsistence and for their livelihoods. The most important water catchment areas are the Eastern Arc Mountains, which are also amongst the most affected by degradation of ecosystem services. The project aims to achieve improved sustainable land and natural resource management to alleviate land degradation, maintain ecosystem services and improve livelihoods in the Ruvu and Zigi sub-catchments through the following two components: 1) Support to enhance the enabling framework for Water Catchment Offices and districts to plan, monitor and adapt land management and leverage national and district baseline investments for SLM; and 2) Landscape level uptake of SLM measures to avoid and reduce land degradation.