Abstract:
Tanzania Forest Fund (TaFF) is a Public Conservation Trust Fund which was established under sections 79
to 83 of the Forest Act No. 14 of 2002. It is a mechanism of providing long term, reliable, and sustainable
financial support to enhance sustainable forest management in Tanzania mainland. The Fund is an
important instrument for financing forestry research particularly the National Forestry Research Master
plan II (NAFORM II) of 2011 to 2020. TaFF has seven functions two functions of which provide a window
for financing forestry research namely; (i) promotion and funding of research into forestry, and (ii) the
promotion of such other activities of a similar nature to those set out in Section 80 of the Forest Act No.
14 of 2002. TaFF is obliged to fund forestry research through her Strategic Objective titled “Applied and
adaptive research on management of forest resources supported”. From July 2011 to March 2018, TaFF
spent Tanzania Shillings (TZS) 720.9 million to support 36 research projects of which 69% are still being
implemented. The research projects supported by TaFF have been/are being implemented by research
and training institutions, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. In addition, TaFF
has spent TZS 500 million for supporting special projects which are being implemented by government
institutions including Tanzania Forestry Research Institute (TAFORI). The Fund has also spent TZS 136.2
million to support the dissemination of forestry research findings. The support to infrastructure development,
equipment and facilities, is another window of supporting and promoting forestry research in Tanzania
mainland. It can be concluded that, TaFF has spent substantial amount of money for financing forestry
research. TaFF will continue financing forestry research; and finally, the commitment for spending research
funds for the intended purposes is paramount
