Wildfires raze 100,000 hectares of trees in Tanzania in three years

At least 100,000 hectares of trees were razed by wildfires in Tanzania’s southern highlands region of Njombe between 2020 and October 2022, an official said on Friday.

Anthony Mtaka, the Njombe regional commissioner, made the revelations in a meeting with relevant officials that discussed the best ways to control outbreaks of fires in forest reserves.

“We should take urgent measures to control outbreaks of wildfires to avoid further destruction of our forest reserves,” said Mtaka.

He directed the region’s districts authorities to come up with strategies aimed at educating villagers to stop setting fires in forest reserves.

Audatus Kashamakula, a Tanzania Forest Services Agency official for the Njombe region, said most fires were set by farmers to clear their farms and honey hunters.