Tanzania was the first African country to formulate a management plan for conservation and development of mangroves, based on a full survey of mangrove resources and the socio-economic and institutional factors determining patterns of use. This paper outlined the new Mangrove Management Plan, which aimed to regulate exploitation of mangroves via a small field team of forestry officers working in partnership with local communities, a scheme to be tested initially in a four-year pilot project. A major long-term proposal of the management plan was to transfer tenure over mangroves to local communities.