CFC Code: 46974

		TFCG establishes new Community Forest Conservation Network by Adrian Kahemela Introduction Tanzania has a wealth of natural resources ranging from its marine habitats, to its rivers, mountains and forests. About 85% of the population live in rural areas and are highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihood. Since Independence, Tanzania's population has almost quadrupled from 8 million people to 30 million in the year 2000. This increase has contributed to the degradation of some of the nation's natural resources, particularly the forest resource. This article looks at Tanzania's changing approach to forest management and describes a new initiative by the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group to support community participation in forest management. Forest resources play a significant role in the daily lives of many communities. The forests offer many benefits to communities. Some of these are direct benefits such as fuel wood, traditional medicine, charcoal, timber, building poles and honey. Others are indirect benefits such as water catchment and climate regulation. Although many Tanzanian communities depend on natural resources for their livelihood, former forest policies focused on the protection of the resource from exploitation and the exclusion of people from forested areas. Forest management overlooked the needs of the local communities. This created conflict between government staff and the communities and resulted in the communities no longer caring about the degradation of their forests. Status of the forest land in Tanzania It is estimated that Tanzania has about 35 million hectares of forest of which 13 million hectares has been gazetted as government forest reserve. These reserves are managed either by the Central or District government. In some areas, management by the government has been severely inhibited by a lack of resources. About 19 million ha of forest are not in reserves but instead lie on public land and lack clear ownership and proper management (MNRT 1998). Both government and public forests are under pressure from shifting cultivation, timber extraction, fire, grazing and settlements. These pressures are most damaging where management is weak such as in the public forests or where the relevant authority lacks adequate resources. This has resulted in a high rate of forest degradation. Although communities adjacent to forest resources have been neglected it is well known that they are crucial in efforts to conserve the forest resource. Prior to forests being gazetted as government reserves these communities had their own systems of forest management where the community protected certain patches of forest. In recent years, managers of the forest resource have recognised that communities need to be involved if forest management is to be sustainable. The new concept of collaborative forest management is being promoted to enable participation of all stakeholders in forest management. Collaborative Forest Management: CFM Community-Based Forest Management and Joint Forest Management are together known as collaborative forest management. Both approaches involve a partnership between local communities and other stakeholders. The goal of these systems is to improve forest conservation so that there is a more equal sharing of benefits among stakeholders. An incentive to participate in CFM is to grant appropriate users rights to local communities so that they may benefit directly from the conservation of the forest. Collaborative forest management includes the establishment of village environmental committees who are responsible for forest management on behalf of the community. The management strategy will follow a forest management plan developed by villagers in consultation with the District authorities. The committee will be answerable to the village government and the district forest officers. Every three months they will submit a report to the district forest officer. If the village needs technical assistance the District Forest Officer can intervene. Potentials for community forest conservation networking Following these changes in the national forest policy a number of community groups have taken a leading role in management of their forest resources. Experience is showing that if communities and particularly their environmental committees are well informed on their roles in CBFM, they can play a significant role in sustainable forest management. However these emerging community groups and committees have been operating in a vacuum of information and support. The Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) in collaboration with CARE-Tanzania has established a Community Forest Conservation Network Unit. The Unit aims to provide opportunities for information exchange, mutual learning and training among community groups involved in forest management. Initially the focus of the Unit will be on communities in the Eastern Arc and coastal zone. Activities will include the publication of a newsletter, exchange visits, awareness raising through radio programmes and local newspapers. Other activities will be to involve villagers in environmental issues through drama and musical events. Implementation strategy The TFCG Network Unit will coordinate activities at the national level. At the local level the Unit will encourage the establishment of independent local networks. Each local network will consist of a committee with members of all participating community based organisations (CBOs) and representatives of Ward environmental committees. The committee will include a chairperson, secretary and treasurer who are responsible for the co-ordination of meetings and activities. Each local network may be a member of the national network. The Community Forest Conservation Network Unit (CFCN) will approach collaborating projects and districts to request that they assist in establishing Local Network Units (LNUs) within their project area. Working with the collaborating project and districts, the CFCN Unit will facilitate cooperation between the CBOs/Village Environmental Committee and environmental groups to establish a framework for the local network. Biannually each local network will hold a general meeting, all members of the participating CBOs and representatives of village government may attend this meeting as well as a representative from the CFCN. The CFCN will monitor the activities of the LNUs and will provide assistance if the LNU is experiencing difficulties. The Network Unit is based at the TFCG office in Dar es Salaam and is coordinated by the Network Officer, Mr Adrian Kahemela. "Let's join together to conserve our natural resourcse for our benefit and that of future generations"
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