A national forestry resources monitoring and assessment of Tanzania (NAFORMA)

Abstract

In Tanzania, the state and trends of the forestry resources are largely unknown. The existing information is fragmented and outdated. Reliable information on Tanzanian forest resources is mainly constrained by the lack of institutional capacity. Under the National Forest Programme of Tanzania, the National Forestry Resources Monitoring and Assessment (NAFORMA) was identified as a priority activity for the Forest and Beekeeping Division (FBD). The results of NAFORMA are needed to support the national policy processes for the enhancement of sustainable forest management (SFM) while at the same time addressing issues of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and Green House Gas (GHG) as international reporting obligations. Yet, the demand of the stakeholders in Tanzania for data and information on the state of the forestry resources is continuously expanding. This project is planned to develop complete and sound baseline information on the forest and tree resources, assist the FBD to set up a specialized structure and put in place a long term monitoring system of the forestry ecosystems. The inventory will eventually yield information about vegetation cover, forest resources, forest utilization, and importance of forests and forest product for communities in Tanzania. When the inventory exercise is based on statistically sound sampling design, careful field work, and advanced data analysis, the final inventory report will provide estimates for biomass and carbon in Tanzanian forest lands. This information will serve emerging demands when building up forest monitoring system and international carbon trade schemes. Proper planning is crucial for the project to meet its goals. This includes preparation of field manual to enable field crews to collect relevant data for the project. The purpose of this field manual is to provide the FBD inventory staff with structured information on the inventory techniques that will lead to the achievement of the intended output.