Gravas Mwalyombo, NamtumboDistrict forest officer said this recently when speaking to journalists from different media outlets who visited the village to see the impact of the five-year project (2018-2022) which is dubbed ‘Leading the Change’
The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Tanzania and is being implemented by Tanzania Community Forest Conservation Network (MJUMITA), Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative (MCDI) and Namtumbo District.
Currently a total of 589,880 hectors of forest cover found within the village land in Namtumbo District is not legally reserved and formalized resulting into deforestation
.“We need more funds so that wecan mobilize villagers to allocate special areas of village land forest reserve within their village land for Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) and later on generate income from selling timber to implement village development projects, “he said.
So far a total of 52,716.88 hectares of forest cover has been allocated as a Village Land Forest Reserve (VLFR)for CBFM in five villages in Namtumbo District.
He named the villages as Kitanda, Mtelawamwahi, Milonji, Kilangalanga,Chengena and Masuguru village.
Elaborating on the impact of the Leading the Change project, he lauded MJUMITA and MCDI to teamed up in the district and train people on forest conservation and other issues.
The project has helped Kitanda village to obtain more than of 107m/,- in revenue generated from selling369.362 cubic meters of standing trees species at Mtaungana forest reserve and later on invest it in education and health sector.
“As district we are very proud of them because from this income, the village has been able to build modern maternity building for expectant mothers worth 29m/-, build two houses for doctors worth 21m/-. Purchase one motorcycle worth 2.7m/-for the Village Natural Resources Committee (VNRC)’s members,” he said.
The Village Natural Resources Committee (VNRC) has been able to donate 3m/- to Lugongoro, Kitanda and Mkomanile Primary Schools to enable pupils obtain desks, learn in a conducive environment and help them to get best academic results.
This has been possible through the five-year project (2018-2022) which is dubbed ‘Leading the Change’ he said.
The implementation of the project has also changed people’s mindsets and villagers were now volunteering to protect the village forest reserves they have within their village land and aware on how they can benefit from forest they have.
Also villagers are now knowledgeable on how to keep records for timber harvesting business, calculate the cubic meter volume of trees and have a mandate to harvest trees sustainably and sell them according to the Government Notice.
Kitanda village is now looking for customers who can purchase timber in their localities to enable them earn funds to implement development projects.
“Customer willing to purchase timber at Kitanda village, the village has 10 indigenous tree species that is suitable for timber harvesting at Mtaungana Village land Forest Reserve.
He named the tree species as Pterocarpus angolensis, Swartziamadagascariensis, Brachystegia spiciformis, Pericopsis angolensis and Brachystegia microphylla, BurkeaAfricana, Julbernardia globiflora, Parinari curatellifolia and Faurea saligna.
Also every year more than 469,000hectares of forest are cleared in Tanzaniawith most deforestation occurring on unreserved forests within the village land.
For her part, Stella Lwambano from Kitanda village lauded WWFTanzania, MJUMITA and MCDI for introducing the project in the village for forest conservation.
“We called on the government and other donors to help us to obtain delivery beds and water at the modern maternity building which has been built by the funds from the forest conservation project to help pregnant women to receive care here without having to travel 60km to Aga healthcare facility or elsewhere to deliver their babies,” She said.
Kitanda village Natural Resources Committee (VNRC)’s treasurer, Ambrosia N’goma noted that in a bidt o protect their forest resources at Mtaungana Forest Reserve they still need eight tents for VNRC’s members to conduct patrol inside the forest reserve, training on good governance and financial management
For his part, Wilbert Mchulu, Kitanda Dispensary Health Facility-In Charge lauded MJUMITA, MCDI and Namtumbo District to help pregnant women in the village access modern maternity building something that was not the case in the past.
“Women are now happy for this healthcare facility, but what they need from the government is water and delivery beds, improving the maternity’s ability to provide safe, sterile, and affordable childbirth to mothers,” he said.
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