Food Systems Land Use and Restoration in Tanzania's Forest Landscapes
The Project 'Food Systems Land Use and Restoration in Tanzania's Forest Landscapes' is a child project under the GEF Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program.
The key environmental problem to be addressed by the project is the degradation of Tanzania's rich forest lands and wetlands and the related loss in forest health and biodiversity, under the pressure of rice expansion and other agricultural development, which has detrimental effects on the delivery of ecosystem services and related livelihood and economic opportunities.
In Tanzania, rice production has more than tripled between 2004 and 2015, making Tanzania the 2nd largest rice producer in South, East and Central Africa. The rice sector is currently a key point of attention of various Government and donor supported programs geared towards both intensification and extensification, with a growing interest in export to supply adjacent Africa states.
The project focuses primarily on two landscapes in Tanzania, both critical for rice production:
Ecological Significance:
Development Context:
The valley is targeted for agricultural expansion under the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor (SAGCOT), Tanzania's largest agricultural development program, with rice production being one of the key target crops in light of the favorable conditions offered by the large Kilombero floodplain.
Ecological Significance:
An area historically covered with rich coral rag forests and hosting the islands' major aquifer systems, which is the basis for food crop production as well as other critical ecosystem functions.
Current Situation:
Over the years, demand for food has driven large-scale conversion of forest lands, resulting in high levels of land degradation. The area is the main target for ongoing investments in the rice production sector as supported by the World Bank and South Korea.
The project addresses critical barriers to ensure current and future rice production becomes sustainable with minimal environmental impact:
Inadequate institutional coordination and integrated planning systems for land and water use management.
Policy and market conditions do not provide adequate stimulus for sustainable agricultural practices and value chains.
Inadequate farmer support systems and enabling conditions for private sector investment in sustainable value chains.
Resource constraints, capacity limitations and lack of proven models of improved management and land restoration.
The project builds on a substantial baseline of over US$70 million in ongoing and planned initiatives:
The project's transformation strategy is built on three interconnected approaches:
Develop an ILM approach through multi-stakeholder processes to provide a framework balancing rice production with preservation of critical ecological systems.
Support sustainable and socially inclusive rice value/supply chains, including governance frameworks, financial mechanisms and market incentives.
Implement concrete restoration and management activities, creating enabling conditions for upscaling in areas degraded by or providing services to rice production.
The Tanzania FOLUR Child Project benefits from exchanges with other FOLUR focal countries, particularly those focused on rice sector (China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam).
Through baseline and GEF-funded activities, the project will generate significant environmental benefits:
Improved management and protection in areas of high value biodiversity
Enhanced capacity through improved management and restoration of forest landscapes
Through improved land-use planning, agricultural practices and forest landscape restoration
FOLUR is a web-based interactive platform designed to support the project in managing stakeholders, sub-catchments, components, and related activities.
Comprehensive stakeholder registration and management with detailed profiles and thematic focus areas.
Detailed geographical management of catchments and sub-catchments with mapping capabilities.
Track project components and their associated activities across different landscapes.
Generate comprehensive reports and gain insights through data visualization.
Ready to start managing catchment area data and supporting sustainable land use? Register for an account or login to access the system.