The Country’s Context

According to the 2007 Tanzanian forest policy Tanzania is among the countries in the world experiencing high deforestation rates ranging from 130,000 ha to 500,000 ha per annum

The direct agents of deforestation are settlement and agricultural expansion, commercial charcoal and fuel wood production, overgrazing, uncontrolled fires, Shifting cultivation and illegal logging. The project will pivot the effort of reforestation and increased wood sources and sustainably restrict the villagers from extreme reliance on forest resources. This is by providing them with free tree seedlings which will cover their farming areas and compensate for the lost biodiversity in the nearby forests, therefore complying with the national forest policy which insists on tree planting and nature protection.

The Region’s Context (Where the trees are planted)

The Eastern Arc Mountains are a global biodiversity hot spot, and this biodiversity must be maintained. Tree nursery projects to reforest lands in the Usambara Mountains’ African Rainforest are an excellent way to achieve this imperative. Population growth puts further pressure on the Magamba Nature Reserve as people need building materials, cooking fuel, and other tree products. The project has the objective to enhance tree planting in and around villages adjacent to Magamba Nature Reserve and the Jegestal water source. By assuring adequate tree availability to communities in the Usambara Mountains, we can avoid the unsustainable illegal use of the Reserves.

Intended outcomes of the forest project

1. Maintain Biodiversity: Maintain and expand rainforest habitat to preserve biodiversity
2. Reforestation: Reforest lands where trees were cut to maintain topsoil and prevent erosion, helping to save the local water source.
3. Income generation: Trees are provided to farmers to plant in agroforestry and alley cropping, improving land productivity and providing a surplus that can be sold at market, raising livelihoods. Schools can sell seedlings, raising funds needed for learning materials, physical improvements, scholarships, and tree nurseries. Tree projects bring in eco-tourists who provide much-needed commerce to the region.
4. Education: Provide learning opportunities for students and village communities so people will understand how sustainable environmental conservation leads to increased availability of forest products and helps to reduce dependency behaviour on the Nature Reserve for forest resources. The ultimate outcome will be a new generation of people who understand how environmental conservation works to their benefit.

We support the Tanzanian people

Due to climate change, food insecurity is a major growing concern for communities in Tanzania. That’s why we’re working with local farmers to increase crop production through training on Agroforestry (a sustainable land management practice of planting trees and crops).

Trees planted will help local farmers to improve soil fertility and make their land more resilient to climate change, providing them with a sustainable source of income to support and feed their families. while reducing pressure on our natural forest. Keep Planting with us at Tree-Nation Platform