Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism on Friday vowed to revisit the Forest Act with a view to protect the 55 per cent of wood forest from total extinction and desertification.
Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki
Addressing reporters in Dar es Salaam on Friday, the Minister, Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki, said majority of people in the country were wantonly harvesting trees without permits from the concerned authorities.
Ambassador Kagasheki said the situation on the ground calls for immediate government attention to address the matter by revisiting the Forest Act in order to serve forests in the country from total extinction.
“We have been working for years on environment conservation but the information on the worsening situation does not reach the populace and most of the tree users are still ignorant of the forest Act and thus more sensitisation campaign on forest conservation is required to be carried on,” said the minister.
He said through the just ended phase one of National Forest Resources Monitoring and Assessment (NAFORMA), the ministry would be able to monitor the changes taking place and evaluate the impact of policies and strategies on the management and utilisation of forests.
Furthermore, the minister told reporters that the ministry was strategising to make concerted efforts on disseminating vital information to the people on the importance of forest conservation and better use of it without environment destruction.
The National Coordinator for NAFORMA, Mr Nurdin Chamuya, said that the available report shows that the country was presently having 54 million hectors following a survey carried out recently under NAFORMA, of which 50 per cent are Miombo trees which grow at very slow pace.
He said the forest cover was supposed to be 87 million hectors but had been reduced down to the 55 per cent. “Reserved forest is harvested rapidly at present due to the high demand from the rapid population growth which see forest as their major source of energy and building polls and for commercial purposes,” said Chamuya.
Source Tanzania Daily News
