Bridging the Gap: linking timber trade with infrastructural ...

guidance from central and district authorities for sustainable management of woodlands (due to a critical
shortage of skilled manpower and insufficient funding) are some of the factors contributing to extensive
woodland clearance.
Large-scale, uncontrolled and often illegal trade throughout the study area resulted in large discrepancies
between government records and actual trade levels. For example, five times as much timber passes
north through Kibiti checkpoint than was officially recorded. The types, causes and impacts of illegal
trade are discussed. Of particular concern was the lack of evidence demonstrating legal timber harvesting
during field work, such as accompanying, official documentation or felled timber bearing legal hammer
marks. The incidence of misclassification and the issue of “offcuts” as a means to mask illegal trade in
preferred species were also disturbingly high. Evidence from the study area showed that illegal trade is
resulting in significant loss of revenue - vital income for local government authorities and communities -
as well as woodland degradation. It is clear that several species have already become commercially
extinct in parts of the study area. For example, Afzelia quanzensis, Millettia stuhlmannii and Swartzia
madagascarensis are predicted to join the growing list of commercially extinct hardwood species in
Rufiji District that currently include Dalbergia melanoxylon, Khaya anthotheca, Milicia exelsa, Newtonia
spp. and Pterocarpus angolensis.
Future outlook
The majority of people in the study area depend heavily on free forest goods, products and services to
support their livelihoods in the absence of viable alternatives. Wise utilization of natural resources in the
study area has the potential to be the foundation for poverty alleviation efforts in southern Tanzania in
addition to supporting local and central governments. Improved forest/woodland management and
socially equitable access, use and trade of forest and woodland resources could drastically increase longterm
benefits to rural communities – at the very least helping to mitigate further poverty, but at the very
best contributing towards poverty alleviation.
However, forestry is not currently regarded as a priority sector in the study area despite the fact that it
influences the progress of other priority sectors for development. The threat posed by malpractices, lost
revenues and forest degradation to the long-term sustainability of timber trade are likely to be exacerbated
following increased access to harvest areas after completion of the Mkapa Bridge. Given its proximity to
the bridge, it is expected that the study area is most likely to be affected in terms of increased exploitation
by outsiders and lost incomes from trade in timber products by both community and government sectors.
Insufficient management capacity is the major limiting factor to effecting proper forest management in
the study area, thereby securing its role in helping poverty eradication efforts in the long term.
Recommendations to improve management for the long-term benefit of sustainable development in the
study area include extensive capacity building at checkpoints, empowerment of local communities in
forest management, improved forest management plans and law enforcement assistance.
Importantly, it is recommended that sustained monitoring and research complement future initiatives in
order to assess changes in trade dynamics, the impacts on livelihoods and the success of any
interventions. A proposed monitoring methodology with preliminary list of 63 indicators is presented.
Baseline timber trade data are presented prior to completion of the Mkapa Bridge, to enable the
monitoring of numerous predicted changes including the magnitude, seasonality, legality, harvest areas,
trade routes, species and product composition.
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