ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY INTERVENTIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY INTERVENTIONS

Environmental sustainability interventions are one STAWI offered services that support protecting and sustaining Tanzanian communities to develop more rigorous responses to address and reverse environmental degradation actions. STAWI also step up its support towards more gender-responsive governance on environmental issues. This includes offering support to women’s empowerment and participation in decision-making around land use, land management, and the protection of the environment and natural resources. These environmental sustainability interventions are provided through continued and new collaborative interventions with ongoing and new partners at national and international levels. The ultimate objective here is to ensure women’s ownership of and access to natural resources and benefits from the environment is increasing specifically in local communities. STAWI’s planned interventions within the environmental program are divided into the following areas:

 1. Forestry, Biodiversity, and Ecosystems Conservation

Tanzania is endowed with diverse forestry ecosystems and is globally known as a major repository of significant biodiversity, ranking amongst the top countries in tropical Africa in terms of the representation of ecoregions, species richness, and extent of species endemism.

The country hosts over thirty major vegetation communities and more than 10,000 plant species of which an estimated 11% are endemic. The species inventory includes over 300 mammal species, 1,100 plus species of birds (one of the largest avifauna in Africa, with 56 species of global conservation concern), and more than 360 species of herpes to fauna (of which 99 species are endemic).

According to the IUCN Red List, Tanzania ranks 15th worldwide in terms of mammal diversity (359 species) and 20th for amphibian diversity (178 species). There are seven ‘Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, four natural World Heritage Sites, and four Ramsar sites. In addition, Tanzania has two areas designated by Conservation International as Global Biodiversity Hotspots: The Eastern Afro-montane forests (Eastern Arc and Albertine Rift components); and the Eastern African Coastal Forests.

Forestry and biodiversity conservation with environmental sustainability interventions are key for the country in terms of employment and livelihoods. Forestry resources can be used for multiple purposes ranging from the supply of wood for fuel and timber to ecosystem and ecological functions and services. The forestry sector in Tanzania supplies more than 90% of the country’s energy resources in the form of charcoal and firewood (BEST, 2015). It also supplies nearly half of the country’s construction materials.

Forestry-related activities currently support the employment of a good number of members of the rural communities. The forestry sector generates approximately 10-15% of exports and

10% of foreign exchange earnings (MNRT, 2015). Despite the positive contributions of the sector to socio-economic development, high poverty levels and rapid population growth have exacerbated environmental problems. Some of these include deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and the deterioration of aquatic systems including water supplies and catchment areas (Tanzania State of the Environment Report, 2014). The unsustainable use of resources leads to reduced sources of livelihood and production in the long run, which in turn leads to food insecurity and increased poverty. The heavy dependency on agriculture and the rapid population growth increases pressure on the environment and natural resources, and increases climate change risks, especially in water-stressed regions.

Within its environmental sustainability interventions and program, STAWI in collaboration with like-minded partners will enhance its efforts to support the development of a national framework for forestry, biodiversity, ecosystems conservation, and watershed management through enhanced program development and implementation, and in partnership with the private sector and civil society to ensure transformative changes. With a view to achieving the SDGs, Vision 2025 and Zanzibar Vision 2020, STAWI has committed to working with the government of Tanzania to support the protection, restoration, and promotion of the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; sustainable management of forests; and efforts to combat desertification, as well as to halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. STAWI will be ready to work with global financial resources to implement new and scaled-up pro-poor and gender-responsive interventions in partnership with all key stakeholders.

2. Sustainable Land and Watershed Management

Unsustainable management of land and watershed has been one of the key factors contributing to the degradation of the environment and resource use-related conflicts. Unplanned expansion of human settlements, encroachment into forested areas, inappropriate farming and livestock management practices, unregulated mining activities, rampant, and uncontrolled bush fires, poor inter-sectoral cooperation, generally weak stakeholders linkages, and poorly planned and uncoordinated action are some of the challenges which need to be addressed to ensure improved land and watershed management for socio-economic development and poverty reduction.

Sustainable Land Management (SLM) offers a comprehensive approach to the management and governance of land and water resources and has the potential to make a significant and lasting difference both in the short-term and long term. Despite significant efforts made in previous years to address land and watershed problems, the lack of adequate potential capacity and financial resources remains a key barrier to the integration of SLM into sectoral plans and strategies.

STAWI’s interventions in this area will focus on building on the extensive baseline of Sustainable

Forest and Land Management (SLM/SFM) work that has been carried out in Tanzania, while exploring the potential to scale up. The first focus will be on building institutional capacity and strengthening co-ordination amongst sectors and relevant stakeholders, and the second focus will be on implementing practical SLM interventions to address land degradation in forests, rangelands, and arable land, with the overall purpose of securing and improving livelihoods services provided by the land resources in the affected regions. In addition,

STAWI is currently working with the Government of Tanzania and other actors to promote watershed management interventions to effectively address the bigger picture of environmental challenges. The tole of the government is to specifically promote watershed/landscape level management planning (in tandem with land use plans) and payment for ecosystem services approaches to ensure that they are maintained and continue to provide services to communities.

3. Wildlife and Illegal Wildlife Trade

In Tanzania, the tourism sector is still widely wildlife-based and is one of the fastest-growing sectors. The sector accounts for about 17% of Tanzania’s GDP. In 2014 over a million tourists visited Tanzania contributing to more than 25% of foreign exchange earnings (MNRT Sector Review 2015). Tourism generates around 250,000 jobs in Tanzania and accounts for around 2% of the total labor force. With increased poaching and illegal wildlife trade, the tourism sector is at risk. A census conducted in early 2015 by the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), in collaboration with the Africa Wildlife Foundation (AWF) shows that the elephant population in the country has declined 60% between 2005 and 2014 due to poaching and currently stands at 43,000. There are various underlying drivers of poaching such as poverty — poor communities are more likely to engage in poaching; poor implementation of regulatory frameworks especially at the local government level; and lack of awareness about the long-term impact of poaching on the local economy, namely, the threat that it poses to the sustainability of the tourism industry. STAWI in coalition with other stakeholders has committed to scaling up its interventions to address the problem of poaching and illegal wildlife trade by improving institutional and regulatory frameworks for better safeguarding of protected areas, with a view to enhance wildlife protection and management and to strengthen the tourism sector.