FORVAC focuses on forest value chains development, and it has done many interventions to improve the production of timber, charcoal, and non-wood forest products (NWFP) in Tanzania. Here are some stories of successfully implemented FORVAC activities.
Village Land Use Plans and Forest Management Plans
The land is the main source of livelihood for rural people. This causes pressure on land resources. FORVAC supports villages in the establishment and mobilization of Village Land Use Plans (VLUP). A total of 41 villages, covering 620,000 ha, have got VLUPs through the support of FORVAC. The VLUP secures that the land area of a village is used sustainably. In the VLUP, the land area is shared between different activities such as agriculture, livestock grazing, water protection, community facilities, and forestry. Forest management can happen either in natural forests or in plantation forests. FORVAC is mainly operating in natural forests. Before villages can fully benefit from their natural forests, defined in the VLUP, a forest management plan must be implemented. FORVAC supports also this procedure. The management plan bases on sustainable forest management practices, and it takes into account a protection aspect. The management plan includes a harvesting plan and an estimated amount of timber and other forest products that can be harvested from specific areas. Villages have then the right to manage their forest land areas as defined in the management plans. The plan is valid for five years. 71 villages have got a forest management plan for a total of 451,000 ha through the support of FORVAC by mid-2023. From these villages, timber (estimated annual allowable cut in total 135,000 m3) and other forest products are sustainably harvested. FORVAC actively works on these villages to improve forest-based value chains which will lead to the enhanced livelihood of rural people.
