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Sector "Conservation and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Forestry and Wildlife" |
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GTZ involvement in this sector comprises projects that address problems in the sustainable utilisation of forest and wildlife. These resources are renewable; thus utilisation systems can be developed and put in place which do not negatively affect the resource base in the long run. This means that utilisation patterns are in balance with the natural regeneration. Forestry About 33,5 mill. hectares, roughly 35% of the total land area of Tanzania, are covered by forests and woodlands. About 13 mill. hectare of this area have been gazetted as forest reserves. Over 80.000 hectares of the gazetted area is under plantation forestry and about 1,6 mill. hectares are under water catchment management. All forest areas are under major threat of degradation. Although there are no reliable data on deforestation, estimates range from 130.000 to 500.000 hectares per year. The main reasons are clearing for agriculture, overgrazing, wildfires, charcoal burning and over-exploitation of wood resources. Due to an inadequate management of the forest resources the actual contribution of the forest sector to the national economy is minor, although the value of the Tanzanian forests is high. In 1989 it was estimated that the sector provided 2-3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 10% of the country's registered exports. The sector provides about 700.000 persons with employment (including forest industries and self-employment in forest related activities). The actual contribution is under- estimated due to unrecorded labour in the collection of wood fuels and other forest-based products consumed by households. The first National Forest Policy of Tanzania was approved in 1953 and reviewed in 1963. In 1997 the forest policy was reviewed with German support, involving all relevant stakeholders, both sectoral and cross-sectoral. The Policy was approved in March 1998. This new policy is in line with ongoing reforms like the Civil Service Reform and the Local Government Reform, confining the Central Government to policy development, regulation, monitoring and facilitation. New concepts and approaches, which are necessary for the enhancement of conservation and management of National Resources, have been introduced, i.e.:
The German support to the forest sector is focussing on advisory services on the further development and implementation of the new forest policy and development and implementation of new approaches/concepts in sustainable management of natural resources. All activities will be fully integrated in a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp). Due to the strong link between GTZ supported projects at local and at central government level experiences gained on local level are considered in national guidelines and regulations and vice versa. Wildlife The wildlife of Tanzania is one of the richest and most diversified in Africa. As a resource it is of great importance nationally and internationally. Several of Tanzania's protected areas are internationally renowned, and this is illustrated by the fact that four (Selous Game Reserve, Serengeti National Park, Kilimanjaro National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area) have been designated as World Heritage Sites and two areas containing protected areas (Serengeti/Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara National Park) as Biosphere Reserves. Tanzania's great reservoir of wildlife and biological diversity is increasingly under threat. Ecosystem fragmentation and over utilization of resources as well as conflicts between agriculture and wildlife are an age old phenomenon, and in the past, the creation of protected areas was seen as the only solution. Conservation efforts have therefore, since colonial days, been focused on the establishment of a network of parks and reserves. In all, Tanzania has devoted more than 20% of her surface exclusively to wildlife. It is however estimated that around half of the wildlife numbers can be found outside the protected areas. Tanzania has adopted a new Wildlife Policy which recognises the fact that wildlife conservation has to compete with other forms of land use. Consequently the policy emphasises community and private sector involvement in resource management. It commits Tanzania to foster the sustainable use of wildlife resources and to promote rural and national development. At the same time it stresses the importance of the protected area network and the need for recognition of the intrinsic value of wildlife to rural people. Most tourism to Tanzania is wildlife-based, and there is a huge potential for expansion. The economic potential of wildlife utilisation for the local communities of Tanzania is considerable, and the policy recognises that special emphasis must be placed on wildlife utilisation schemes that benefit the local people living in or around wildlife areas. It is estimated that the potential of direct income from wildlife utilisation (excluding multiplier effects of tourism) is around 40 Mio US$ p.a. A large proportion of which would be in foreign exchange. German supported activities in the sector thus aim at giving wildlife a value in particular for the rural people. On one hand the management of protected areas (Selous, Saadani, Katavi/Rukwa/Lukwati) is or has been supported, while on the other hand community based wildlife conservation schemes in the vicinity of these protected areas are promoted. As the sustainability of these schemes is dependent on the conducive role of the public sector, in particular the Wildlife Department, an advisor for Community Wildlife Management supports the Wildlife Division in capacity building, in particular in creating an enabling environment for community involvement. 
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