UNESCO and KOICA support sustainable livelihoods in East Usambara

Business in East Usambara Biosphere Reserve in Tanga. The first training is expected to be held in July 2014. The training will be organised by EUBR in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. Communities will be trained on the context of business management, marketing, accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, and environmental and biodiversity education. The trained communities will increase their awareness on the importance of linking business and environmental issues and establishing entrepreneurship mind-set which will lead to scaling up of existing green businesses and creating new ones. The other two trainings will be held by end of this year with different context, but still related to green business establishment.

A sustainable business entrepreneur, Jason J Drew said ‘Previously people talked about win-win business deals, they were naïve, the environment always lost.’ UNESCO hopes through this project that the unique, amazing and spectacular nature of Tanzania will not be a loser. Nevertheless, in mapping and consultation meetings held in March 2014 at community level by EUBR, the shared view summarised by stakeholders toward green business is “Green business for protecting biodiversity to increase income without distorting the environment”.

About 38 percent of land of Tanzania is forests and woodlands and includes important natural ecosystems and wildlife habitats. More than 75 percent of Tanzanian population is living in the rural areas that extremely depend on natural resource and agriculture. This situation has been an obstacle to preserve forests from human economic activities. In order to rectify this situation, UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) program (1971) has been connecting human and nature instead of separating the two with diverse projects in and around biosphere reserves which has led to sustainable development.

In Tanzania, East Usambara Biosphere Reserve in Tanga was designated as one of Biosphere Reserves in 2000, after two other Biosphere Reserves, Serengeti-Ngorongoro (1981) and Lake Manyara (1981). East Usambara region is the beneficiary of the GEBR project, and covers areas around Muheza, Mukinga, and Korogwe districts.
There will be a workshop for Tanga residents in the next 10 days the first of which will target residents of Mnyuzi on Monday the 14th of July, 2014 and journalists are welcomed to cover this training which will aim to educate the residents about the benefits of preserving the forests for sustainable livelihoods projects.
For more information please consult:
UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office (dar-es-salaam@unesco.org)
P.O. Box 31473
127 C, Mafinga St. (Off Kinodoni Rd.) Dar es Salaam Tanzania
Tel: +255-22-266 6623Fax: +255-22-266 6927/ Stella Vuzo 0767 100902
For UNESCO’s recent publication about GEBR project: http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/pdf/MAB_national_report_ROK_MABICC25_en.pdf