Tanzania envoys in Finland to learn the best ways to develop Tanzania’s forestry sector.

HELSINKI: TANZANIA has resorted to to learn from Finland how to benefit from forest reserves, including broadening revenue sources from the natural reserves.

Experts from the Tanzania Forest Fund (TaFF), the Department of Forestry and Beekeeping, and the Office of the Registrar of Treasury (OTR) have visited Finland to learn the best ways to involve the private sector in developing Tanzania’s forestry sector.

The training, organized by the Embassy of Finland in Tanzania, is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism’s efforts to exchange experience between Tanzanian and Finnish experts on effective private-sector engagement in forest conservation, management, and development.

Speaking during the visit, Acting CEO of TaFF, Dr Tuli Msuya, said the visit will support the implementation of TaFF’s fundraising strategy, which aims at broadening revenue sources to increase TaFF’s self-sustainability in case the current forest-based income streams are unavailable.

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Additionally, Dr Msuya said that they have learned the best ways to engage and empower the private sector across the entire chain of conservation, development, and sustainable use of forest resources in contributing to increased community income and national economic growth.

Moreover, she said that the training also provides an opportunity for TaFF to establish partnerships with various Finnish stakeholders in private-sector engagement and empowerment in Tanzania.

For his part, the Assistant Director in the Department of Forests and Beekeeping Seleboni Mushi, noted that the training is beneficial for the development of Tanzania’s forests since the forested areas in the country cover more than 40 percent of the country’s land, yet their contribution to the national income remains low, approximately 4 percent.

Elaborating, he stressed the need to promote private-sector participation to increase involvement in forest-related activities and adopt technologies that enhance production and proper utilization of forest products.

“The private sector can invest in tourism services and increase national revenue and employment, as done in Finland,” he said.