In Tanzania, government officials, environmentalists and citizens have begun taking notice of a 2007 report that detailed illegal logging in the country's south, according to The Citizen. Today, these groups are working to promote sustainable forestry and educate locals about the legalities of the country's timber trade.
In Tanzania, government officials, environmentalists and citizens have begun taking notice of a 2007 report that detailed illegal logging in the country's south, according to The Citizen. Today, these groups are working to promote sustainable forestry and educate locals about the legalities of the country's timber trade.
On July 31, Arusha-based Tanzania Natural Resources Forum (TNRF) re-launched the Mama Misitu campaign, which is designed to improve the country's forestry governance and community participation in forestry management. Through Mama Misitu, locals are taught the value of forest products that were legally harvested and illegally harvested. A wide coalition of national and local organizations are on board for the re-launched campaign, which is being funded jointly through donations totaling about $5 million from the governments of Finland and Norway.
The report that has reinvigorated Tanzania's forestry advocates was published five years ago by TRAFFIC, a wildlife conservation group. (View the full report here.) The report revealed that Tanzania's government lost about $58 million each year through illegal logging.
