Discover Kilwa, where harvested timber is used to manufacture musical instruments such as guitars.
Kilwa is a district in Tanzania, with roughly 75% covered in forest. It is home to a vast array of wildlife. Timber harvesting is central to the livelihoods of local communities, and much of the timber eventually ends up in popular musical instruments. “The species harvested here – African blackwood, rosewood, redwood, etc. – are in demand around the world, particularly in the UK and Japan, where many of these instruments are made,” says Isaac Malugu, Forest Programme Coordinator, WWF-Tanzania.
WWF and local partner, the Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative (MCDI), have been working with communities in Kilwa since 2004 to put forest management into the hands of local communities. 13 villages in Kilwa are members of a group sustainable forest management scheme. The Nanjirinji Village might seem isolated, but it is the most successful village in the FSC group certification scheme. Since 2012, its revenue has more than quadrupled, with the extra income going towards improving education, infrastructure, healthcare and local market expansion.
For Asia Ally Ngakola, a member of the village council and mother of four, the benefits are personal. Her children can now attend school and she can make more frequent hospital visits. More importantly, she feels a special connection to the forests that she didn't before. “Previously, I didn’t know anything about conservation and I didn’t see the value of the forest,” she says. “But now I understand its importance, and I’m able to convince other people to conserve the forest.”
But convincing locals is often a challenging task. “At the onset of the project, when WWF and MCDI came, we refused to participate. We thought it was a trick and they were coming in with a hidden agenda and grab our land,” says Abdalah Said Mpwanda, a resident of Nanjirinji Village. “But when they raised awareness, we decided to cooperate and now our perception has changed because we’ve started benefiting from the forest reserve and we understand the concept of sustainable forest management.” A major challenge is that there is often resistance to change. Farmers from neighbouring districts often encroach on community land for shifting cultivation and illegal harvesting, which creates conflict. Poaching is also a problem, though national efforts to fight it and raise awareness among communities has reduced its impact in recent years. Charcoal burning has also historically been a key source of income for people in Kilwa, and shifting mindsets can be challenging. “We are now fighting against it because it’s destroying our forest,” says Zabron Bugingo, Executive Director of the Kilwa District. “WWF and MCDI are doing wonders in raising awareness, and conservation is a top concern in the district’s priorities. We can’t plan for the district if we can’t plan for the environment.”
Benefits of community forestry management The results are not just economic. “We’re seeing wildlife such as elephants, buffalos and lions coming back to areas that have better forest management,” Malugu says. Kilwa’s example shows that when communities understand the value of forests and the benefits they can gain, it is good for both conservation and people. “When communities get incentives, they embrace responsible forest management,” Makala says. “It is a win win for everyone.”
