Impacts of deforestation on sustainability in Tanzania

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to summarize and analyze some of the main causes and consequences of the rapid and continuing deforestation in Tanzania, and to illustrate the impacts of the problem on the social, economic and environmental systems of the country. It also suggests the best methods for overcoming deforestation in Tanzania. The thesis is structured to critique previous methods proposed in other research studies, mainly those conducted by the Tanzania National Forest Programme. The issue of deforestation in Tanzania is a long debate between the country’s desire for economic growth on the one hand, and environmental protection on the other. Multiple conflicts exist in policy-making and decision-making, which account for the difficulties in solving the problem. Activities undertaken by individuals and corporations concerned about their own financial gain bring a huge cost to the environment, to today’s society, and to the future generations. This paper provides a critical analysis of data from previous research studies and information published by the forestry sector in Tanzania. Failure to overcome deforestation up until now suggests a failure of previous methods to sufficiently address the problem. For this reason, a further assessment is provided in this thesis to highlight suitable approaches that might improve the situation. Adoption of affordable technologies could serve as a solution to deforestation in Tanzania. The findings of this thesis expose the poor leadership and management in Tanzania, which gives rise to numerous problems, mainly poverty. This poverty in turn is a major contributing factor in the current levels of deforestation and the social, economic and environmental unsustainability of the country.