Posted on :Saturday , 24th January 2015

Commodities in Kilwa District have earned 200,000 US dollars (361.5m/-) from timber exports to Europe in the past ten years.

In a statement, Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative (MCDI) said nine communities set aside 100,000 hectares of village natural forests with sustainable harvesting for exports.

"MCDI also supported seven communities in the nearby Liwale and Tunduru Districts to reserve 80,000 hectares of forest in 2014," the statement said.

The Kilwa based MCDI further noted that the communities have the legal rights to place to generate ethical, sustainable, and long-lasting forest-based income by selling certified hardwood timber.

"MCDI monitors the impacts of our projects on people and forests to ensure that they are having actual, tangible benefits for conservation and development," the statement added as MCDI marked ten years since starting the project.

"The Forum also serves as an opportunity for MCDI's collaborators to take part in shaping our work plans for the coming yearÉ it has been one of our key strengths in maintaining transparency in decision making, ensuring that we are fully accountable to the communities we support," the statement stressed.

In March 2009 MCDI was awarded a certificate by the Forest Stewardship Council for the community managed forests it supports in Lindi region.

The certificate awarded is a group certificate which means that the actual forests are managed by rural communities while the certificate manager is MCDI which collaborates with FSC.

The group certificate design is efficient, as the costs of certification are spread among all members. Furthermore, new members can be added without requiring a separate inspection by FSC accredited auditors so long as MCDI follows the rules it has agreed with FSC for adding new members