Descriptions

About 50% of the total land area in Tanzania is degraded, with the highest rate of degradation found in the plateau and semiarid agro-ecological zones. Poor farming practices and overgrazing are the leading drivers of land degradation. The major impacts of land degradation are reduced land productivity and food insecurity associated with the destruction of ecosystem services. These impacts are aggravated further by the effects of climate on agriculture, one of the most vulnerable sector in Tanzania. Land degradation is estimated to cost the Tanzanian economy about US$10.1 billion per year. To mitigate this huge loss, the government of Tanzania with financial support from IFAD, is implementing a project titled Reversing Land Degradation Trends and Increasing Food Security in Degraded Ecosystems of Semi-Arid Areas of Tanzania (LDFS). The project targets 12, 950 agro-pastoralist households in twenty-five villages and five districts of Kondoa, Nzega, Mkalama, Magu and Micheweni. ICRAF is providing technical support on the use of the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF) tool to set baselines and assess potential outcomes of restoration interventions led by partners, and in monitoring land degradation at the end of the project.