Forest and Forestry in Tanzania: Changes and Continuities in Policies and Practices From Colonial Times to the Present

Abstract

The forest sector has a very important role to play in Tanzania ' s economy.Although, in absolute terms, their contribution to total gross domesticproduct (GDP) is relatively low, the country ' s forests contain such a highlevel of resources that make Tanzania one of the richest and most bio-diverse countries. Due to such importance, forestry has variably featured inTanzanian policies from colonial time to the present. This paper, therefore,examines such policies relating to forests and forestry in Tanzania from thecolonial to recent times. It argues that, although there has been a change inthe approach from a preservationist approach in the colonial andpostcolonial period towards a managerial/win-win approach in the currentforest conservation, there is a resurgence of the preservationist tendency inthe focus on managing forest solely to increase carbon stocks. Drawingevidences from various existing policy documents and other literature, thispaper concludes that forestry policies have been, and continue to reveal anotable protectionist and reservationist propensity while also expectingrevenues from them through various forest products. These policies, to agreater extent, have throughout resulted into conflicts between both colonialand post-colonial states and local population who demands free access to theforest resources for their survival.