VICE PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango has expressed dismay at the Tanzania Forest Service (TFS) empowering law as acknowledging charcoal business as a source of revenue.

Officiating the opening of a two-day environment meeting for top officials and environmental experts to discuss the state of environment in the country, he said that the recent National Environment Report shows that Tanzania lost an additional 24,151 hectares of trees and shrubs per year in farm expansion and tree cutting. 

Unregulated agricultural and pastoral activities also affect water sources in different parts of the country, causing more environmental risks, he said,

 “There is clear indication that the state of environment protection in the country is not satisfying at all," he said, affirming that this needs serious efforts by all stakeholders to improve the situation.

He was disappointed by slow tree planting initiatives compared to the speed of cutting them, pointing at little public awareness and education on tree planting. Probably the models used for public education are not good enough, he said, citing other challenges such as shortage of tree nurseries to meet the demand, along with dumping sites and vehicles.

Recycling industries to absorb substantial portions of waste products were also few, he said, underlining that both farming and pastoralism were grabbing major parts of the land and interfering with water sources.

He pointed out that a total of 7m tonnes of hard wastes are produced in the country every year, with 3.7m tonnes correctly disposed of, the Vice President has declared.

Shigeki Komatsubara, the UNDP resident representative applauded the government for efforts to conserve the environment and push adaptation to climate change, assuring the government of UN support for those efforts.

Dr Ashatu Kijaji, the Union and Environment state minister in the Vice-President's Office (VPO) said that the meeting brings together experts from the public and private sector, non-government organizations and other stakeholders.

The purpose is to increase awareness on the state of the environment and discuss what needs to be done to improve the situation, she said, listing eight topics lined up for discussion and finding a way forward.

Carbon trading is one of the issues, she said, an aspect that is consonant with the VP’s concern for deforestation and environmental pollution, insisting on the need for more efforts to reverse the trend, including carbon trading commitments.

The fight against environment pollution and degradation faces challenges like conflicting laws and lack of public awareness, he added.