TANZANIA and Finland have signed a four-year agreement (2025–2029) in a bilateral initiative designed to enhance sustainable forest management, climate resilience and economic development across selected regions.

Emma Nzunda, the project coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said at the signing ceremony in Songea over the weekend that the project is meant to expand the Tanzania forests and land use value chains development project (FORLAND), to strength environmental resilience in the southern regions.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) extends the project’s footprint to Ruvuma and Lindi, taking up from earlier initiatives in Njombe and Iringa regions to enhance institutional ownership, accountability, integrating forest landscape restoration into regional development plans, she stated.

The MoU will enable regions to mainstream forest restoration into their planning processes while strengthening coordination and accountability, as the project is not merely a conservation effort but a comprehensive economic intervention, she stated.

It supports actors along the forestry value chain—from small-scale nursery operators producing high-quality seedlings to transporters and processing industries turning timber into exportable products, she explained.

The project will only succeed if government agencies, local communities and development partners work closely together as key deliverables include seedling production, wildfire prevention and technical training for grassroots tree farmers, she said.

Michael Howkes, the project’s chief technical advisor from Finland, highlighted the devastating impact of recurring forest fires, which have historically wiped out years of investment by local farmers in a single incident.

One of the critical aspects of the MoU is risk mitigation, as the new initiative engages the breadth of stakeholders while building their capacity to manage forests sustainably and stimulate economic growth, he asserted.

By prioritising fire prevention, the project is designed to help shield the local economy from cyclical setbacks that have long hindered the forestry sector, he further noted, while Mwinjuma Mkungu, the Lindi assistant regional administrative secretary, said the agreement addresses fraud by seedling dealers.

It is expected to help farmers avoid the use of fake or substandard seedlings that reduce yields and put to waste years of labour, as through nursery certification and technical oversight, FORLAND activities will ensure farmers invest in viable, high-yield forestry inputs.

Joseph Martin, the Ruvuma regional administrative secretary, said the MoU would enhance inter-regional coordination, ensuring forest management efforts transcend district boundaries.

As the country grapples with climate change challenges, the partnership with Finland—a global leader in sustainable forestry—is a milestone in advancing national biodiversity and environmental protection goals.

The project is expected to improve the livelihoods of thousands of rural residents and contribute to international climate intervention commitments through carbon sequestration and sustainable land management, he added.