Mama Misitu Campaign members

Africare

Formed in 1970, Africare works to improve the quality of life in Africa. Africare works in partnership with African communities to achieve healthy and productive societies. Africare's approach places communities at the center of development activities. Africare believes that only through strong communities can Africa feed itself, appropriately exploit its natural resources, educate, care and protect its children, promote the economic well being of African people and live in peace.

Africare's programs address needs in two principal areas: health and HIV/AIDS as well as food security and agriculture. Africare also supports emergency humanitarian aid, water resource development, environmental management, literacy and vocational training, microenterprise development, civil-society development and governance initiatives.

Care Tanzania

CARE Tanzania began operations in 1994 in response to an influx of Rwandan refugees; from 1994 through 1996, CARE provided food, water, sanitation, shelter and health care to 500,000 refugees. CARE Tanzania has since expanded to include projects in education, environmental protection and reproductive health.

Of particular relevance is the EMPAFORM project, Strengthening and Empowering Civil Society for Participatory Forest Management in East Africa (EMPAFORM). In Tanzania the target group for EMPAFORM is some 30 second-tier CBOs that serve as umbrella organizations for about 450 village CBOs with common interests in a forest resources. The latter are grassroots or primary level CBOs which would reach some 18,000 households, thus bringing into the programme about 90,000 men, women and children.

FARM-Africa

FARM-Africa started work in Tanzania in 1990 it is an international non-governmental organisation that aims to reduce poverty in eastern and South Africa. FARM-Africa works in partnership with marginal farmers and herders, helping them to manage their natural resources more effectively and build sustainable livelihoods on their land.

FARM-Africa works in Babati and Mbulu districts in northern Tanzania, and has an office in Arusha to facilitate coordination with partners in the public sector, civil society and the international donor community. With the support of FARM-Africa – providing expertise in forest management, livestock development and environmental education in schools – communities make plans to use their natural resources, simultaneously gaining experience in voicing their needs and taking control of their own development.

Farm Africa’s achievements lie in strengthening communities and improving the quality of life for rural families.

ICRAF (World Agroforestry Centre)

The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) is a lead global organization in agroforestry research and development, which is a member of  the alliance of Consultative group of international agricultural research centres. ICRAF-Tanzania collaboration dates back to 1989 and over the years through the Eastern and Southern Africa regional program, a diverse range of agroforestry options for poverty alleviation and environment protection were developed. Shinyanga and Tabora regions were the main beneficiaries of this collaboration through the HASHI/ICRAF and the SADC Agroforestry research projects. The country program is guided by ICRAF’s global mission, “We use science to generate knowledge on the complex role of trees in livelihoods and the environment, and foster use of this knowledge to improve decisions and practices impacting on the poor.”

In 2005-2006 ICRAF redefined her research priorities, in response to emerging global challenges of land degradation, loss of biodiversity and climate change. ICRAF perceive major drivers of the current trend in the tropical natural resources sector as: Pressure to convert forests to agriculture, increasing demand for timber and pervasive failures in forest governance. The organization’s vision is an 'agroforestry transformation' in the developing world resulting in a massive increase in the use of working trees on working landscapes by smallholder rural households that helps ensure security in food, nutrition, income, health, shelter and energy and a regenerated environment. ICRAF-Tanzania based in Dar es Salaam as of May 2006 is committed to work closely with national and international partners in the country towards this vision.

IUCN

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is the world’s largest and most important conservation network. The Union brings together 83 States, 110 government agencies, more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership.

The Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

The priority of the Union’s current Programme (2005–2008) is to build recognition of the many ways in which human lives and livelihoods, especially of the poor, depend on the sustainable management of natural resources.

Mpingo Conservation Project

Founded in 1995, the Mpingo Conservation Project (MCP) believes that mpingo (Dalbergia melanoxylon - harvested to make musical instruments such as clarinets and oboes) offers a unique opportunity for integrated conservation and rural development across large areas of its native habitat in Tanzania and Mozambique. The project aims to use mpingo as an economic tool to advance conservation of mpingo’s natural habitat: miombo woodland. In particular the project seeks to achieve this through promoting sustainable and socially equitable exploitation of this natural resource. Conservation of the natural habitat will be achieved by ensuring that local people living in mpingo harvesting areas receive a fair share of the worth of mpingo - currently they get less than 0.005% of the cost of an instrument - thus providing them an incentive to manage the habitat in an environmentally friendly manner.

The MCP works in Kilwa District, south-eastern Tanzania - scene of some of the worst illegal logging - and is unique among NGOs in the country in its focus on sustainable utilisation of timber. It works in close collaboration with the Tanzanian government's national programme of Participatory Forest Management to hand over control of forests to rural people living nearby. The MCP is extending this model to obtain FSC certification for the community forests, and in particular for mpingo used to make musical instruments. Musicians should shortly be able to buy instruments certified by the FSC as made from timber sustainably sourced from community managed forests for which local people have received a fair price.

Policy Forum

The Policy Forum is a network of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). This growing network currently has over 50 member organisations, all of which are registered in Tanzania. The aim of Policy Forum is to make policies work better for the people of Tanzania, and especially for Tanzanians living in poverty. As a member-led network, Policy Forum strives to enhance and augment the voice of ordinary citizens in national policy processes while advocating for poverty reduction, equity and democratisation in Tanzania. Policy Forum’s work has three main areas of focus: local governance, public money and active citizen voice.

Tanzania Association of Foresters

The Tanzania Association of Foresters (TAF) has been in existence since 1979. The main objectives of the Association are as follows:

a) To foster public interest in forestry.
b) To form a forum for all engaged in forestry.
c) To advance and promote the Forestry profession and all aspects of forestry.
d) To disseminate information relating to forestry to the nation and other forestry related institutions.
e) To co-operate and liaise with other organizations in matters of mutual interest

TAF has field activities supporting environment conservation through community Based Natural Resources Management in the northern areas of Gekrum, Arusha, Tloma, Gongali, Changarawe, Kilimatembo & Bashay,
and in Southern highlands, (Idofi, Mtewele, Mlowa, Kiumba , Mtowango & Lwanjiro). TAF also participates in conservation activities in collaboration with individuals, Government, Local community, Institution & Other NGOs.

Tanzania Forest Conservation Group

The Tanzania Forest Conservation Group is a Tanzanian (TFCG), established in 1985, is a non-governmental organisation promoting the conservation of the Eastern Arc / Coastal forest biodiversity hotspot. During the 1980s TFCG focused primarily on advocacy and research.  During that time TFCG successfully campaigned for the first Eastern Arc National Park in Tanzania, the Udzungwa Mountains National Park.  The group also conducted biodiversity research in forests such as Kimboza highlighting their conservation importance. 

The mission of the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group is: to promote the conservation of the high biodiversity forests in Tanzania.

During the 1990s TFCG began to establish a network of field based projects in the Eastern Arc.  These projects worked with the forest-close communities to raise awareness about forest conservation, develop conservation strategies and improve livelihoods. In 1998 Tanzania adopted a new National Forest Policy.  Since the passing of this policy TFCG has taken a leading role in developing and testing the implementation of participatory forest management in Tanzania.

Tanzania Natural Resource Forum

Launched in 2003 as the Wildlife Working Group, the working group subsequently broadened its focus in 2006 as TNRF as a collaborative civil society-based initiative to improve renewable natural resource management in Tanzania by addressing fundamental issues of natural resource governance. TNRF views the quality and equity of governance as fundamentally determining how natural resources are managed, how they support the livelihoods of Tanzanians and how they sustain the economic development of the country.

TNRF works to improve governance and local empowerment in natural resource management bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders and interests to share information, build collaboration and pool resources towards a common aim of better and devolved natural resource management.

TNRF’s vision for improved natural resource management consists of five straightforward points:

• Governance – more accountable and transparent governance institutions;
• Policy & law – a responsive and better functioning policy and legal environment that enables sound management and fully supports local people’s rights;
• Communities – who are empowered, skilled and accountable resource users and managers;
• Formal enterprise – profitably operating through fair partnerships with rural people for better rural livelihoods and sustained local and national development;
• Landscapes – that are well managed ecosystems which generate sustainable services and values needed by a diverse range of people and interests.

TRAFFIC Tanzania

Operating in Tanzania since 1995, much of TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa’s (TESA) work involves creating awareness and influencing policy decisions about important trade, use and environment issues, building capacity within government institutions to deal proactively with these issues, and working with other NGOs, research institutions and local communities to find solutions to pressing livelihood issues that currently impact negatively upon species or ecosystems of concern. TESA is renowned for its original and credible research that forms the foundation for all of its capacity building, advocacy and policy initiatives, in addition to the development of innovative, solutions-orientated tools to better manage and understand wildlife trade.

TESA’s recently developed programme of assessing natural resource use from an ecoregional perspective has yielded very positive results here in Tanzania. TESA’s monitoring of the impact of a major development project – Mkapa bridge, the longest bridge in East and southern Africa – on timber trade dynamics and socio-economic issues in a relatively undeveloped part of the country, is the focus point of this proposal document.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

WCS has been working in Tanzania for 50 years to help the country safeguard its unique global heritage. More than 130 projects have been supported, encompassing training, research, monitoring, institutional support, education, and the gazettement and extension of Tarangire, Ruaha, Serengeti and Kitulo National Parks. In 2006 and in recognition of the conservation importance of Tanzania, WCS began a new era with the launching of its first cohesive country program. The mission of the country office will be to manage a portoflio of projects, guide future development, and define and update strategy within Tanzania. At the same time, WCS aims to build on its traditional strengths including a focus on fieldwork, strong science, and robust community and government partnerships.

WCS recognizes the intrinsic link between the environment and sustainable development, and that species, ecosystems and landscapes must be managed by maintaining an equilibrium between human and conservation needs. Rural communities around protected areas need support in the management of natural resources, so that they can receive benefits from conservation, protect water and fuel supplies and better manage human-animal conflicts. WCS in Tanzania is helping to develop community-based initiatives through which local people will benefit from key habitats, and thus have an interest in their long-term survival and integrity. WCS is equally committed to supporting government and non-government institutions manage and monitor key landscapes and species.

Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST)

Founded in 1988, the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania's mission is to work towards the conservation of the flora, fauna, and environment of Tanzania for the benefit of mankind.

Since its founding, WCST has been involved in a wide array of conservation activities at local and national levels. These include environmental education and recreational activities such as bird walks; forest conservation in places such as the Eastern Arc and coastal forests; conservation policy including a prominent role in advocating for the original international ban on ivory trade in 1989; and conservation of important bird habitats in Tanzania.

WCST is the designated national partner of Birdlife International and works with that organization and other international and local collaborators to conserve areas of critical importance for the nation's avian diversity.

WWF Tanzania Programme Office

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has been involved in Tanzania since 1962. However, the WWF Tanzania Programme Office was established in 1990 to manage the Tanzania Conservation Programme and develop active links with both the government sectors and institutions as well as non-governmental organisations. The WWF TPO currently manages around ten key programmes / projects, the projects mostly focus on:

• Promoting and supporting Protected Area Management;
• Supporting management of critical habitats and biomass;
• Conserving species of special concern;
• Supporting institutional capacity building and development and implementation of effective natural resource policies and legislative frameworks;
• Environmental education and awareness; and
• Promoting local community participation in conservation.

All partner organisations agree that ‘Mama Misitu’ will be facilitated by the Tanzania Natural Resource Forum. New partner organisations are welcomed by ‘Mama Misitu’ at any time.