Tanzania's Forests Face Ongoing Threats: A Comprehensive Overview of Tree Cover Dynamics

Tanzania's Forests Face Ongoing Threats: A Comprehensive Overview of Tree Cover Dynamics

Tanzania, a country with an area of over 94 million hectares, has experienced significant changes in its tree cover over the years. The country's tree cover extent, which stands at approximately 26.40 million hectares, has been subject to various pressures resulting in notable losses. Analysis of historical data reveals that shifting agriculture is the predominant driver of tree cover loss, accounting for the vast majority of the hectares lost annually.

Over the years, the impact of shifting agriculture on tree cover has been consistently high, with other factors such as forestry, wildfires, and urbanization also contributing to the decline. The data indicates a net loss in tree cover of over 3.80 million hectares, which represents an 11.30% decrease from the stable tree cover. This loss is juxtaposed with a much smaller gain of approximately 557,000 hectares, highlighting the challenges faced in maintaining and recovering Tanzania's forests.