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livestock populations increase in Tanzania (Vatn, Vedeld et al. 2009). Other drivers ofdeforestation and forest degradation in Tanzania which often is mentioned includesunsustainable logging, illegal mining, pit sawing, illegal harvesting for buildingmaterials and bushfires (Burgess, Clairs et al. 2009; Chiesa, Dere et al. 2009; UnitedRepublic of Tanzania 2010).The proximate drivers listed above are in one way or another often influenced byunderlying factors. In Tanzania there are particularly two main underlying factors,which are important to note, namely weak tenure regimes and political decisions. Forinstance as the structural adjustment programs of the 1990s resulted in the removal ofstate subsidizes of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, slash and burn practicesbecame more of a necessity to survive for small scale farmers, and thus leading tomore clearing and degrading of forest for increasing agricultural land. In addition,weak tenure regimes on local and community levels and the issue of corruption alsowithin national agencies and institutions in terms of resource use and management hasplayed a part in failing to address the issue of deforestation and forest degradation(Vatn, Vedeld et al. 2009).1.2.2 Evolution of land and forest management in TanzaniaWhen evaluating the forest situation in Tanzania two sets of data are of particularimportance: data on the sizes and types of its forest and woodland areas, and data onthe levels of deforestation and forest degradation. In Tanzania however, this is quitedifficult as there are variations in both recorded annual rates of deforestation anddegradation and the forest and woodland sizes that these numbers are based on. Inaddition, the various studies and forest inventories from which the available datacomes from are from different times. There is therefore a great need for a morecurrent and overall assessment of the forest situation in Tanzania, something whichthe Readiness Plan Idea Note (R-PIN) of the Forestry and Beekeeping Division alsohighlights (United Republic of Tanzania 2009). In this R-PIN though they havegathered some of the available data on forest loss divided by forest type, as can beseen below:7