Mpanda Mathew

Impact of Forestland Tenure Changes in Amani Nature Reserve, Tanzania: Re-thinking Forestland Tenure Arrangements in Forest Conservation of the East Usambara Mountains Mpanda Mathew

In sub-Saharan Africa most of forestlands were placed under the state control following colonial disposition, but this paradigm changed in 1990s in favour of decentralization to create stake to the rural poor and the marginalized that live adjacent to the forests. Despite the much publicized decentralization, a subject debate still exists on which is the best tenure regime among state, private and common. The central pillar underlying this debate can be scrutinized in three dimensions of forest resources, livelihoods and governance. This book showcases one case study in the East Usambara Mountains, where forestland tenure changes occurred from private to the state in contrary to the prevailing paradigm of decentralization. Forest cover, stocking levels and tree diversity were analysed to entail status of the forest condition under the new tenure regime. The lessons drawn by this work can help forest professionals, conservation experts and anyone else who is interested in forest conservation understand complexity in forestland tenure especially in areas where there is both high biodiversity and high human population density.