MEMA is a Swahili abbreviation for sustainable management of natural resources and protection of nature values. The project was initiated in 1999 and operates in the northern part of the Iringa region, a part of Tanzania's central highlands extending from the northern tip of Lake Malawi to approximately 100 km south of Morogoro and Dodoma. MEMA facilitates the transfer of user rights and ownership of natural woodlands and forest reserves to local communities. As of 2002 the forests involved included the Nyang'oro Forest Reserve (118,000 hectares), Kitapilimwa Forest Reserve (3,699 hectares), and village forests surrounding the Kitapilimwa Forest Reserve (12,042 hectares). MEMA encourages the establishment of village natural resource committees in charge of the management of the forests, based in a management plan developed by the villagers and facilitated by MEMA.