Frontier Tanzania Environmental Research - Frontier-publications ...

Figure 2.2: Distribution of the miombo ecosystem in southern Africa (source: TheMpingo Conservation Project, 2007)Miombo woodlands support over 40 million rural people directly, and indirectlysupport another 15 million urban dwellers (Abdallah and Monela, 2007). They aretherefore subject to massive resource use. Miombo accounts for 39.6% of total forestcover in Tanzania, and resides under various management schemes (Banda et al.,2006). Resources are extracted for use as medicines, fuel, food, fibres, andconstruction materials. Miombo woodland also provides a range of services that arenot as apparent as resource use, including cultural and spiritual values, climaticregulation, erosion and hydrological control (Abdallah and Monela, 2007).In Tanzania 97% of all annual wood extraction is used as firewood (Abdallah andMonela, 2007), in the region of 2.2 m 3 per person per annum (Foley and van Buren,1980). Charcoal is also commonly used as a fuel source; for example, within Dar esSalaam consumption rates are approximately 100 kg per person per year (Foley andvan Buren, 1980). Traditional techniques used to produce charcoal lose 70% of thecaloric value of the wood, therefore adding to the unsustainable nature of this practice(Luoga et al., 2002; Abdallah and Monela, 2007). The demand for charcoal isgrowing as the human population increases, and without a corresponding growth intechnological development many consumers are unable to switch to alternative energysources (Abdallah and Monela, 2007). For example, use of electricity for cooking isreported by only 1% of households in the country (NBS, 2002). Total fuel woodconsumption is an estimated 30 million m 3 per annum (Foley and van Buren, 1980).Deforestation rates in Tanzania are in the region of 91,276 ha/year (Dallu, 2002).Shifting cultivation accounts for 50% of deforestation on the Tanzanian mainland(Abdallah and Monela, 2007), with charcoal, illegal harvesting, mining livestockgrazing and fire also contributing (Dallu, 2002). More obscure issues regardingpoverty, overpopulation, inadequate agrarian policies, corruption and greed, ignorance15