Tanzania

Tanzania Icon

Capital

Dodoma Area: 947,303 km2

Population

44 Million (2012 Census)

Life expectancy

Male 60, Female 64 years

Total Forest Land

48 Million Ha Equivalent to
54.4% of Total Land Area of
88.3 Million Hectares

Wood Demand and Supply

Consumption: 62.3 Million m3/year
Supply: 42.8 Million m3/year
Deficit: 19.5 Million m3/year

Background Information

Forest Defination

Forest’ means an area of land with at least 0.5 ha, with a minimum tree crown cover of 10% or with existing tree species planted or natural having the potential of attaining more than 10% crown cover, and with trees which have the potential or have reached a minimum height of 3m at maturity in situ.

Forests in Tanzania play an important role in the daily livelihoods. They are an important source of energy for cooking, building timber, traditional medicine, tourism, fodder, water catchments, shelter for wildlife and estuaries for fish breeding areas. Furthermore, these forests also have high biodiversity, containing over 10,000 plant species, hundreds of which are nationally endemic, 724 species of flora and fauna identified as threatened in the IUCN Red List, and 276 species of flora and fauna classified as endangered (IUCN, 2013). Reserved areas in Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar) include Conservation Areas, namely, National Parks, Game Reserves, and Nature Forest Reserves (Protective); and Forest Reserves (Protected and Production). These nature forest reserves and forest reserves are managed by either the Central Government or the Local Government Authorities. The reserved area occupies almost 50% of the forested area in Tanzania. These reserved areas are legally protected, and therefore, it is possible to reverse the current forest losses with interventions.


Tanzania Forest Indicators

Drivers of Deforestation and Degradation
  • Agriculture

    Monitored by Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment (Monitoring of National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty – NSGRP, also known as MKUKUTA)

    How is it Monitored

    • Crop productivity aggregated at four governance levels: village, district, regional and national
    • Shifting arable land with changes in temperature and precipitation as detailed in the National Investment Centre (NIC) and NAPA documents
    • Changes in cropping patterns (mono-crop vs. mixed) farming, timing (earlier or later), crop types, seed varietiesfertilizers, pesticides and herbicides
    • Percentage change in food crop production Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS)
    • Percentage of smallholders using modern methods of farming (irrigation, fertilizers and improved seeds) National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
    • Percentage of households whose main income is derivfrom harvesting, processing and marketing of natural resources products National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) or Ministry of Natural Resources and
    • Percentage of smallholders who have one or more off-farm income generating activities National Burea of Statistics
    • Percentage of smallholders who accessed formal credits for agricultural purpose (NBS)
    • How it Works

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  • Commercial Logging and Charcoal

    Who is Monitoring

    Tanzania Forest Services and National Bureau of Statistics HBS/National Census

    How is it Monitored

    • Revenues from sale of forest products
    • Information related to illegal activities and changes in forest utilization
    • Percentage change in proportion of rural households reliance on forest products
    • Adoption of alternative livelihood activities
  • Woodfuels

    Who is Monitoring

    Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment, Ministry of Energy and Tanzania Forest Service

    How is it Monitored

    • Percentage increase in number of customers connected to the national grid and off-grid sources of electricity Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM), National/Stations
    • Percentage of households in rural and urban areas using alternative sources of energy to wood fuel (including charcoal) as their main source for cooking NBS
    • Energy generation capacity by source (hydro, wind, solar, gas)
    • Percentage of population connected to the national grid
    • National energy generation capacity
    • Number of projects/programs on alternative energy sources
    • Proportion of households dependent on forests for energy resources
  • Forest Fires

    Who is Monitoring

    Tanzania Forest Service

    How is it Monitored

    • Hectares of land under forest fire annually
  • Infrastructure

    Roads generally result in increased deforestation and degradation (Nepstad et al. 2001). They make the transport of goods possible and economically viable, linking resources and producers to markets at lower costs.

  • Population Growth

    A large proportion of the population depends on forests in some way for their livelihoods or for their fuelwood, this consequently puts pressure on forests and land

Ecosystem Types

Estimated emissions

Forest Change Statistics

Forest change statistics (2002 – 2013) for Tanzania Mainland

Forest change statistics (2004 – 2012) for Zanzibar Island

Forest Cover Types

Forest Ownership

People and Economy
    • Employment

      7,000 people are directly employed by the forestry sector, according to 2011 FAO data.

Economic Value

The forestry sector contributed USD 612.9 million to the economy in 2011, which is approximately 2.7% of the GDP.

Total Forest Cover

Trends in forest change from 1990 to 2010 showing an average loss of 403,328 ha per year

Total Forested Land
  • Forests include
    • Montane
    • Lowland
    • Mangrove
    • Plantation Forest
  • Woodland include
    • Open and Closed Woodlands
    • Thickets

Woodlands occupy 93% of total forested land

See Other Countries

state of forests & redd+



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Kenya

Total Forest Land

6.5 Million Ha Equivalent to
7.9% of Total Land Area of
66.9 Million Hectares

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Mozambique

Total Forest Land

41 Million Ha Equivalent to
51.4% of Total Land Area of
77.9 Million Hectares

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Uganda

Total Forest Land

4.7 Million Ha Equivalent to 
24% of Total Land Area of
19.7 Million Hectares

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Ethiopia

Total Forest Land

12.3 Million Ha Equivalent to
15.7% of Total Land Area of
1.112 Million Hectares

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