Neil D. Burgess, Paul Harrison, Peter Sumbi, James Laizer, Adam ...

MANAGEMENT ISSUES: TANZANIA’S COASTAL FORESTS 2011
4.8 Potential Projects as Revenue Sources to be Applied in Coastal
Forest
In the coastal areas, the potential additional sources of funding apart from the existing ones may be
achieved through different project write ups. Potential areas that have been indicated to interest
different funding organizations include:
Sustainable logging can be one of the potential project sources of revenue to the communities and
the forest sector in coastal forests. An example comes from MCDI where a total of 84m 3 of
blackwood (worth TZS 13,337,800/-) and 23m 3 of five other species (msenjele, mpangapanga,
mtondoro, mninga and mkongo worth 2,683,400/-) was harvested from Village Land Forest Reserve
(MCDI pers comm 2011). Certification of these harvests is resulting in sustainable logging and
communities can benefit from harvesting their own forests.
Butterfly farming is another potential revenue generation activity which could be introduced to
communities around selected coastal forests. This type of the project has been applied in a number
of areas in Tanzania, including Zanzibar and Tanzania mainland. In Kwezitu Village in the East
Usambara, households involved in the butterfly farming project can earn up to TShs 200,000 per
month.
Project Based Approaches:
Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). Wildlife Management Areas are village level management
arrangements focussed on wildlife conservation, and operating under different legal and regulatory
frameworks than those for Village Land Forest Reserves. Communities within the focal landscapes,
and indeed across the coast, expressed a strong interest in developing WMAs, often because
benefits were perceived to be greater than in VLFR systems.
Sustainable charcoal production. A more sustainable approach to charcoal production is another
way of revenue generation for the communities in coastal districts. As observed in Malimbwi et al.
(2007) there is huge amount of charcoal flowing into Dar es Salaam from coastal areas. In 2007, at
least 6,777 bags of charcoal entered Dar es Salaam every day, with 50% coming in along the Kilwa
Road. It is expected that the amount of bags moving to Dar es Salaam along this road will have
increased since 2007. WWF has been exploring more efficient and sustainable charcoal production
using Half Orange Kilns, which could increase community income in coastal forests as well as reduce
the pressure on the forests due to haphazard charcoal burning which causes degradation of forests
in coastal districts. Sumbi and Songela (2010) show that sustainable charcoal production by two
groups in Bumba-Msoro village earned TSh. 1.8 million by selling 180 bags of sustainable charcoal to
Destinations All Ltd, so there is potential in this approach to be expanded further in this region. in
the case study area which will result into improved livelihoods of the communities in the respective
areas and reduce pressure to the forest resources in these areas.
4.8.1 Emerging Opportunities:
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). Such projects are another
way to develop an alternative source of revenue to continue with forest activities. Significant REDD+
funding is being channelled to coastal districts for different forest activities. Based on the existing
experience, further funds might be obtained for forest conservation and management activities
based on the conservation of forest carbon. Currently, most of the activities carried out in these
areas entirely depend on the project funding.
Ecotourism. This is one kind of revenue generating activity that could not only benefit the
community in the respective areas but also the revenue collected could be re-invested into
conservation activities in the respective areas where coastal forests do exist.
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