The conservation of the forest resources of eastern Africa: past influences, present practices and future needs - Biogeography and Ecology of the Rain Forests of Eastern Africa - page 318

wasteful overlap and compeiion. Tanzania does
not yet have a natural forest secion within a
Ministry large enough to achieve coordinaion
and direcion of donor effect. The disincion
between administraive units of the Central
Ministry, Region, District and Local Govenment
foresy sector hampers all forms of orest
management. There is difficult coordinaion
between foresy and agricultural sectors of
Govenment, although potenially achievable
through disrict govenment.
Forests sill provide important imber resources
and there is a great deal of illegal trade in pit-
sawing, some with collusion of forest officials.
Despite a parial and temporary moratorium on
pit-sawing in the East Usambaras, there was no
sign of field effort to reduce this massive aciviy.
The answers to these problems will not be easy in
Tanzania's difficult economic climate. But the
answers must depend on local people support and
a moivated forest deparment. Foreign aid can
help simulate such support and moivaion; it
cannot replace it.
Kenya, too, is going through similar intenal
poliical debate on the need for forest conserva-
ion. There is some level of donor support to the
natural forest sector (ODA of UK) and much
more to rural development and rural reafforesta-
ion programmes which will directly and indirectly
affect the natural orests. Criics of the developing
Kenya Forest Acion Plan as alluded to in World
Bank (1988) reports, point to the great difficuly
in implemening conservaion, and prevening
encroachment and overuse, in the face of huge
populaion growth and consequent land hunger.
Arguments or biodiversiy will not work, argu-
ments for water catchment might.
Both counries sill have an inadequate forest
protected area network. There are sill forest
lands outside the orest reseve estate. There are
sill many areas of extreme biological importance
which have inadequate protecion in the forest
reserve network. While forests are degrading
there is interminable debate on categories and
adminisraive power. The irst steps to conserva-
ion are obvious, legal gazettement at the highest
levels. Then comes improved management capa-
biliy to well-ormulated plans.

But conservaion is a human problem not a
biological problem. Conservaion will not succeed
unless human needs are catered for and adequate
altenaive resources provided. Foresy has little
experise in human development and must join
forces with other agencies to develop on
integrated sustainable land use in the forested
areas. We need urgent acion to ind out 'how?'.

Acknowledgments
John Hall, Katherine Homewood, Jack Holmes
and Andrew Wardell discussed many of the issues
raised in this chapter and commented on earlier
drafts of he manuscript. Many people con-
ributed ideas, inormaion and literature. I thank
in paricular Alex Boswell, Neil and Liz Baker,
Gil Child, Colin Congdon, Henry Fosbrooke,
Geoff and Vicki Fox, William Ha" hone, Kim
Howell, Jan Kielland, Jon Lovett, E. J. Mlowe, I.
Mwasha and Simon Stuart. Saidi Mbwana, who
has headed the Forest Management secion of the
Tanzania Forest Division for many years has been
my companion on several forest fact-finding
surveys. I leaned much pracical forestry with
him. Jon Lovett and Sam Wasser helped 'idy up'
early manuscript drafts. Messrs Rajesh Thapa
and R. N. Tyagi yped several drafts. To all of
them, my thanks.

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