300,000 Hectares Restored in Shinyanga, Tanzania — but what did it really take to achieve this restoration?

Background

The study examines explores how issues of personalities, enabling policy, decentralized and participatory governance, gender, traditional knowledge and institutions, contribute to woodland restoration (where all scales count — from small family forests to larger village forests). The research hypothesizes that the success of this large scale reforestation was not simply technical approaches but, equally important was understanding the: changes in politics, policy change, local need, multiple benefit flows (people, gender, livestock, education, health), local knowledge, respect for local institutions and role of personalities and champions. The Shinyanga region of Tanzania is highlighted.  The region suffered major degradation due to the tsetse fly and agricultural expansion. By 1985, it was fully degaded and with restoration efforts by 2004 more than 300,000 ha had been restored, with heavy involvement from the local community.

Conclusions & Takeaways

The results suggests that local community incorporation/ownership is key and that there will need to be continual monitoring and even an incorporation of conservation efforts, post-restoration, but the local ownership is the main objective.