PROTECTION OF FOREST, OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

The forest is a wide area of land covered by trees and inhabited animals in their natural habitats. Usually the benefits derived from the forest do not go to only its inhabitants but also to a large extent all humans. Some of these benefits include the provision of food, formation of cloud resulting in rainfall, creation of employment and medicinal herbs.
Others are the provision of foreign exchange from forest products, tourist attraction. Inspite of these benefits some people still destroy or damage to the forest.
The major activities damaging the forest include illegal cutting down trees for lumbering and indiscriminate hunting and the worst of all, bush fire.
To deal properly with matters concerning degradation of the forest, much attention in terms of proper management is needed. The problem of illegal logging will be best solved if district assembles by-laws are enforced. Environmental conservation education in schools and communities should also be intensifies, moreover the forest watching committees should be formed to monitor the activities of loggers that cause deforestation.
Timber merchants should be made to plant new trees to replace the harvested ones. District Assemblies Community Based Organizations [CBO’s] and watchdog committees should form a monitoring team to supervise the tree planting projects of the timber merchants.
Furthermore, indiscriminate hunting activities should be discouraged. Education to comply with off activities should be discouraged. Education to comply with off season hunting should be intensified.
Last but not the least, the most dangerous thing that destroys our forest is bushfire. Some individuals fail to abide by the laws that have been instituted by the Government to abolish the rampant burning of bushes and so they damage the forest .For Tanzania to be able to do away with the frequent burning of bushes, citizens will have to go by simple laws that speak against the indiscriminate burning bush and forest.
The community watchdog should be strengthened to enhance effective public education. Every individual should avoid using fire to clear land and also to trap bush animals. This method of land cleaning destroys a whole mass of the forest including some vital micro organisms in the soil.
So by using these suggestions forest degradation will certainly be reduced and the biodiversity duly protected and conserved. It’s the responsibilities of all Tanzanian citizens to protect and conserve the forest, which will enhance the economic development and help to eradicate poverty in our country.
Written by;
Lina James-YET 2011