Tanzania’s forests and woodlands are severely threatened. The pressures are particularly severe in Tanzania’s 170,000 km² of unreserved forest. Community based forest management has the capacity to halt forest degradation whilst generating sustainable benefits for deprived communities.

For many decades Tanzania has been at the forefront of community based forest management (CBFM), whereby communities are granted tenure and user rights over forested land on the condition that it is sustainably managed. This form of management holds substantial promise to generate benefits for both livelihoods and biodiversity. However, following an initial boom the implementation of CBFM in Tanzania is stagnating.

Our Darwin funded project RESPeCT (Realising Equitable, Sustainable, and Profitable Community based forest management in Tanzania) explores the costs and benefits of CBFM for livelihoods and biodiversity, and generates practical solutions to address current limitations. We also work with decision makers at all levels - from village to national government - to inform policy. The aim is to create enabling conditions for CBFM to be rolled out more widely – for the benefit of communities and forests.

Specifically, we undertake

• Village surveys to understand the monetary and non-monetary benefits of CBFM (summary of the results (pdf))
• Forest surveys to understand the impact of CBFM on forest condition
• Training on (gender) equity with villages to ensure a fair distribution of the CBFM benefits and equal representation in decision making processes
• Capacity building with villages and government officials to enable a smooth implementation of CBFM