NCI 2024
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    Mammals Birds Amphibians Reptiles Myxini – Hagfishes Petromyz' – Lampreys Sharks & rays Animals Holocep' – Chimaeras Ray-finned fishes Dipneusti – Lungfish Gastropoda – Snails & slugs Coelac' – Coelacanths Insecta – Insects / bugs Arachnida – Spiders & scorpions Malacostraca – Malacostracans Diplopoda – Millipedes Bivalvia – Marine molluscs Cephalopoda – Squids & octopuses Chilopoda – Centipedes Pycnogonida – Sea spiders Merostomata – Horseshoe crabs More Classes
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    Tanzania is an East African country that is well-known around the world for its incredible biodiversity. It hosts diverse landscapes including lush forests, stunning coastal areas and expansive grasslands. The Serengeti national park, famous for its vast savannahs and the spectacular annual migration of millions of wildebeest, zebras, and other wild species. Tanzania is home to all of Africa’s Big Five- lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros. Its plant species rank among the best in the world. All these factors support the country’s tourist industry, which totals for 9% of its GDP.

    Challenges such as habitat loss outside protected areas, threatening endangered species such as the black rhino, savannah elephant and wild dog. About 43.7% of its land is protected, yet pressure from development and agriculture still exists. Sustainable management practices and improved governance are critical to conserving Tanzanian biodiversity and ensuring the long-term health of its ecosystems, which play vital roles in supporting livelihoods and maintaining ecological balance.

    Score Rank Change
    Total Score – NCI 2024 60.11 38 N/A
    Land Management 75 7 N/A
    Protected Areas (Terrestrial) 100 1 N/A
    Ecological Representativeness of Terrestrial Protected Areas 100 1 N/A
    Connectedness of Terrestrial Protected Areas 76 11 N/A
    Protected Areas (Marine) 8 71 N/A
    Pristine Habitat (Converted Land) 100 1 N/A
    Sustainable Nitrogen Management (Soil Pollution) 41 77 N/A
    Sustainable Pesticide Use 100 3 N/A
    Threats to Biodiversity 65 72 N/A
    Threatened Species (Terrestrial) 78 137 N/A
    Threatened Species (Marine) 78 12 N/A
    Threatened Species’ Coverage by Protected Areas 84 114 N/A
    Species Coverage by Marine Protected Areas 98 43 N/A
    Species with Declining Populations (Terrestrial) 31 86 N/A
    Species with Declining Populations (Marine) 0 10 N/A
    Depleted Fisheries 14 32 N/A
    Fishery Pressure in the High Seas 100 119 N/A
    Invasive Species Pressure 97 74 N/A
    Capacity and Governance 68 48 N/A
    Total Management Cost 97 88 N/A
    Conservation Culturomics 66 19 N/A
    Conservation Legislation 51 45 N/A
    Ratification of CBD 100 1 N/A
    Ratification of CITES 100 1 N/A
    Political Stability and Absence of Violence 50 63 N/A
    Control of Corruption 44 85 N/A
    Government Effectiveness 42 107 N/A
    Future Trends 33 139 N/A
    Climate Change Mitigation 33 139 N/A

    Four pillars elaborated:

    Land Management

     Protected areas in Tanzania, known as Hifahdi za Mali hai za Tanzania in Swahili, covering about one-third of the country’s total area. These protected regions include national parks, game reserves, marine parks, and forest reserves, totaling 840 PAs. Overall, about 43.7% of Tanzania’s land area is protected or conserved, with terrestrial and inland waters covering 39.94% and marine and coastal areas covering 3.05%. Coastal and marine areas receive less protection compared to terrestrial ecosystems.

    Wetland resources, covering approximately 10% of the land, play critical roles in groundwater recharge, flood control, water retention, electricity production, and preventing eutrophication in rivers and lakes. These areas support unique biota.

    Tanzania also has 23 national parks with an area of more than 99,306.5 km² (38342mi²), as well as 8 transboundary conservation zones. These parks, which are run by the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA), have well-known attractions like the Serengeti and Arusha. The highest level of protection is offered to Nature Forest Reserves (NFRs), which are governed by the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) agency. Timber and animal extraction is strictly prohibited in these while research, education, and nature-based tourism are encouraged.

    Threats to Biodiversity

     Tanzania is a critical hotspot for biodiversity, with the 11th-highest number of species listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Tanzania is the country in Africa with the greatest number of threatened species, with 1,591 species listed as Endangered, Vulnerable, or Critically Endangered. The main threats to Tanzania’s biodiversity are overgrazing, resource overexploitation, bushfires, and dependency on fuel wood. Overgrazing causes soil erosion and vegetation loss, resource overexploitation drains natural resources more quickly than they can be renewed. Large tracts of vegetation are destroyed by bushfires, and demand for fuel wood contributes to deforestation.

    Illegal hunting, unplanned settlements, human animal conflict and livestock migration are other significant threats. Marine and coastal ecosystems suffer from declining resources and coral reef destruction due to destructive fishing practices like dynamite fishing.

    Poor agricultural practices and deforestation contribute to water pollution and drought. Poverty and lack of information on genetic resources worsen the situation, as many communities remain unaware of biodiversity conservation’s importance.

    Capacity and Governance

     Tanzania is working on protecting its natural environment through strategies that relate biodiversity to poverty reduction and economic growth. Initiatives like Joint Forest and Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) have encouraged communities to participate in environmental management through public awareness programs. These joint efforts enable local people to manage natural resources in a sustainable manner, with benefits from wildlife tourism and sustainable projects such as beekeeping. Tanzania has strengthened its enforcement of environmental laws and local regulations, guided by the Wildlife Policy aimed at conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable wildlife utilization for socio-economic benefits.

    But, there are challenges in regulating legal wildlife trade controlled by CITES. Enforcing quotas and tracking exports is costly in terms of funds. Plus, the problems in differentiating between captive-bred or wild-caught specimens persists despite efforts, which encourages the illegal trade. It’s tragic that despite being just on the brink of extinction and facing numerous threats, endangered creatures are still permitted to be hunted by wealthy trophy hunters, revealing the vulnerability of biodiversity conservation initiatives in Tanzania.

    Future Trends

     Tanzania’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) will address aquatic, agro, and terrestrial biodiversity with strategies such as policy implementation, regional cooperation, education, research, and ecosystem conservation. Projects like HASHI plan to restore degraded land through tree planting. The goal of programs like Community Forest Reserves and Wildlife Management Areas is to involve the local communities in sustainable practices.

    Challenges include inadequate environmental awareness, limited resources, restricted budgets and unsustainable farming practices. Strengthening law enforcement, governance, engaging the private sector, promoting innovative community conservation strategies, enhancing technical skills, and securing funding in the biodiversity sector will be very important for effective conservation.

    Tanzania ranks 134th in the environmental performance index of 180 countries, highlighting the uncertain future of its rich biodiversity and, flagging the need for improved governance, innovative solutions, and enhanced global collaboration to address biodiversity challenges.


    Biodiversity

    Tanzania ranks among the world’s most biodiversity-rich countries, housing six of the 25 globally recognized biodiversity hotspots. It boasts a vast array of species, with at least 14,500 confirmed, including a significant number of both endemic and threatened species, positioning it among the top 15 countries worldwide in this regard.

    The country holds more than a third of Africa’s total plant species and is twelfth globally for bird species diversity. Approximately 40% of Tanzania’s land area is dedicated to protected regions, including forests, wildlife, and marine areas. Additionally, it is home to about 20% of Africa’s large mammal population.

    In the table below are the number of known species in several main groups, how many of these species are Threatened with extinction, and how many of them are Endemic (unique to Tanzania only):


    Species
    (World rank)    		 Threatened % Threatened Endemic % Endemic
    Mammals 405 (#18) 41 10.1% 45 8.1%
    Birds 1,075 (#12) 47 4.4% 33 3.1%
    Reptiles 357 (#25) 34 9.5% 90 25.2%
    Amphibians 207 (#21) 61 29.5% 90 43.5%
    Fishes 1,174 (#19) 211 11.9% 108 6.1%
    Plants 14,500 (#16) 644 4.40% 553 3.80%

    Go To 2024 National Nature Conservation Index Main Page

    Tanzania

    Gateway to Africa's natural wonders

    Score:

    60.11 / 100

    Rank:

    38 / 180