Afforestation for Mitigating Land Degradation on Kilimanjaro Highlands

An afforestation for mitigation against land degradation was implemented on Kilimanjaro highlands, as a result of the community need assessment conducted in the study area in September 2010. The data were gathered through; focus group discussion, interviews, questionnaire, secondary data reviews and direct observation. The results indicated that land degradation is the outcome of deforestation in the study area. To address the problem of deforestation, goal and objectives were set through involvement of various stakeholders. Implementation was conducted following the assessments which unveiled the interventions to undertake to achieve the intended goals and objectives. Two strategies for tackling the problem were identified; the first was the awareness creation and capacity building for the community members and Village leaders and the second was tree seedlings production and on-farm tree planting. The results show that tree nursery groups were formed and a number of tree nurseries increased from one to forty four with a total of 151,000 tree seedlings in study area. It is recommended that the Moshi Rural District council establish sustained afforestation programs.