This article was published in The Citizen Newspaper -Tanzania on March 13, 2025
Upon hearing the word ‘wildlife,’ many people immediately think of wild animals, unaware that the concept is inclusive of uncultivated terrestrial and aquatic plants.
Tanzania is globally significant for her richness in biodiversity of both plants and animals-‘flora and fauna’, evident in the wild animals’ species count of about 2,516, and a number accounting for over 20% of Africa’s warm-blooded animals’ population (Animalia Bio, Tanzania).
For plants, aside from Madagascar, Congo and South Africa, Tanzania has the largest plant biodiversity in the continent with about 14,000 species, (Tanzania’s National Forest Policy, 2018; also, Samson Hilonga, et al., in: South African Journal of Botany, 2018).
24 years ago Tanzania’s ‘National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan’ (NBSAP) referred to Tanzania as a “mega-biodiverse country,” a terminology that was endorsed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of UNEP.
According to CBD, Tanzania harbours 6 out of 25 global biodiversity hotspots. The six are: The Eastern Arc old Block-Mountain Forests, Coastal Forests, Great Lakes for Cichlid fishes, marine coral reef ecosystems, ecosystems of the alkaline Rift-Valley Lakes, and the grassland savannahs for large mammals. 43.7% of the land is protected or conserved, and forest reserves cover 15.7% of the mainland. Overall, forests cover about 55% of Tanzania mainland, a total of about 48.1 million hectares (Tanzania Forest Services data).
But Tanzania is not spared from the irreversible global pandemic of plants going into extinction. Data published in the NBSAP rank Tanzania as 15th globally in having large number of threatened species.
According to the 2013 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) RedList, there were at least 900 threatened species recorded in the country, some were endangered. This high level of threatened species is attributed to overexploitation, increased ecosystem-wide deterioration, habitat fragmentation and degradation and climate change” (NBSAP, 2015, p.15).
10 years later, in 2023 classification Tanzania is named by IUCN RedList as home to the 11th highest total number of red listed threatened species in the world, and according to WCS Tanzania, the most threatened biodiversity in Africa, with 1,591 ‘Critically Endangered,’ ‘Endangered,’ and ‘Vulnerable’ species.
There is also a high number of endemic species, that is, species only found in Tanzania. 85 out of 360 reptile species and 86 out of 206 amphibians known in Tanzania are endemic. Many species are discovered recently, including 27 reptile species and 43 amphibian species discovered since the year 2000. This gives researchers hopes that there are many more endemic species to be discovered, yet many among those are at risk of disappearing.
For example, a newly discovered tree species Mischogyne iddii, officialy named in 2019 after a Tanzanian botanist Iddi Rajabu is extremely endangered. Researchers Andrew Marshall and George Gardens consider its survival at risk because it had a population of only 7 trees.
Biodiversity is important for the planet due to the indispensable and irreplaceable interdependence amongst living things. Tanzania’s economy is to a great extent powered by our natural biodiversity, including agriculture, fishing and tourism. Human needs are also dependent on what the biodiversity supplies, making protection of plants crucial.
Stringent measures are needed to regulate pollution of lands and water with plastic and chemical wastes, and importation of plastics, short-lived machineries and obsolescent goods which are harmful to our biodiversity.
Globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List), altogether 46,300 species are endangered with impending extinction. This amounts to 28% of all assessed species, 166,000 in number. In details 41% of amphibian species, 26% of mammals species, 34% of conifers species, 12% of birds species, 37% of sharks and rays species, 44% of reef corals species, 28% of selected crustaceans species, 21% of reptiles species, and 71% of cycads species. These numbers are significant for the global ecosystem and survival of all species (2 million animal species and 400,000 plants species).
Locally, the government’s effort to control deforestation and harvesting of forest resources is commendable. As per the 2015 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan about 30 multisectoral laws and policies were enforced and documented therein as part of the biodiversity protection action plan, covering all crucial areas of biodiversity protection with directives and boundaries. There are also multilateral conventions which Tanzania has ratified, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the Ramsar Convention for conservation of wetlands and their resources.
While all these are at the systemic level, we need to cultivate in our people through public awareness and education, disciplined interaction with nature and a culture of care especially towards wild plants. To overcome the myopic claiming of nature’s plant resources, the government needs strategic plans for people to benefit from natural resources through appropriate channels.
Shimbo Pastory is an advocate for positive social transformation, and a student of Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University – Philippines. Website: www.shimbopastory.com
