WHAT ARE THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN TANZANIA ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY OF TANZANIA (1997: Pg:5-6) 11. The current state of the Tanzania environment is a matter of concern. A national analysis has identified six major problems for urgent attention. These are problems of: - i. land degradation; ii. lack of accessible, good quality water for both urban and rural inhabitants; iii. Environmental pollution; iv. loss of wildlife habitats and biodiversity; v. deterioration of aquatic systems; and vi. deforestation Each of these is important to the economic well-being of the country and the health of the people. 12. To expand on the above problems, it is appreciated that: - i. land degradation is reducing the productivity of soils in many parts of Tanzania; ii. despite considerable national effort, over half the people in towns and in the countryside do not have access to good quality water for washing, cooking, drinking and bathing; iii. pollution in towns and the countryside is affecting the health of many people, and has lowered the productivity of the environment; iv. the loss of habitats for wildlife is threatening the national heritage and creating an uncertain future for the tourist industry; v. the productivity of lake, river, coastal and marine waters is threatened by pollution and poor management; and vi. Tanzania forest and woodland heritage is being reduced year by year through clearance for agriculture, for woodfuel and for other demands. 13. The reasons for the current deteriorating state of the national environment, include: inadequate land and water management at various management levels; inadequate financial and human resources; the inequitable terms of international trade; the particular vulnerable nature of some local environments; rapid growth of rural and urban population and inadequate institutional coordination. These factors together are creating undue pressures on natural resource systems. 6 Other important factors include inadequate monitoring and information systems, inadequate capacity to implement programmes, inadequate involvement of major stakeholders (eg, local communities, Non-Governmental Organisations, the private sector) in addressing environmental problems, inadequate integration of conservation measures in the planning and development of programmes. 14. These environmental problems have evolved over a long period of time, and are dispersed throughout the country. Although the costs relating to these problems cannot be quantified because of lack of data, the economic and social costs are high. It is understood that environmental degradation has had, and continues to have, adverse impact on the quality of human life and health. 15. A number of important measures have been initiated by the Government to promote political and economic change. Efforts are being made through economic reforms, to nudge the economic system towards a free market economy with increased role for the independent sector. The shift towards political pluralism, and the relinquishing by Government of the major sectors of the economy to the private sector will generate important indicators on how natural resources are used and managed, on the impact on the environment of the enlarged involvement of social groups in the development process, and on the nature of policy directions and investment decisions relating to the environment and natural resources. Clearly, increased investments in various sectors of the economy will bear impacts on these variables. The restructuring and adjustment of the economy, including macro-economic changes, will impact on the use and allocation of natural resources, and on the environment. 16. During this economic transformation the Government views the agricultural and the industrial sectors, particularly tourism, mining and transportation infrastructure as the main impetus to economic growth. The Government is aware that, by promoting agriculture as the engine of growth, the sector could also bring forth significant adverse impacts on natural resources and the environment, in turn undermining further agricultural growth. Expansion in agriculture could imply bringing more land into production from existing forests and woodlands, wildlife areas; draining wetlands; expanding irrigated agriculture, accompanied with salinization and water-logging; and/or increasing the use of agrochemicals, overdosing cropland soil and threatening the quality of surface and groundwater, etc. Likewise the Government is also aware that the necessary big push on tourism, industrialisation and infrastructure will have implications for the use of natural resources and the environment
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