Case Example: Shinyanga Region, Tanzania

The HASHI program in Tanzania's Shinyanga region restored 500,000 hectares of woodland by reviving 'ngitili', a traditional Sukuma practice of seasonal livestock enclosures. This effort reversed decades of desertification caused by cash-crop expansion and 'villagization' policies. Success was driven by a combination of traditional knowledge, decentralized governance, and long-term funding from the Norwegian Development Assistance Agency. While the program provided significant economic benefits and reduced workloads for women, it faces ongoing challenges from population growth, socioeconomic disparity in land ownership, and a lack of national monitoring systems.

• Between 1986 and 2004, the community-based Shinyanga Soil Conservation Program (HASHI) facilitated the restoration of 500,000 hectares of woodland across 833 villages, benefiting a population of 2.8 million people.
• The restoration centered on the revival of 'ngitili', a traditional Sukuma practice where areas of vegetation are closed to livestock from the start to the end of the rainy season and opened only during the peak of the dry season to prevent erosion and ensure fodder availability.
• Restored ngitili provided substantial economic value, with an average annual value of 16 major natural resource products reaching US$89.6 million per year at the district level and US$1,190 per household.
• The program reduced the daily workload for women, who are primarily responsible for collecting water, fuelwood, and fodder, by saving between 1 and 6 hours per harvest or day depending on the resource.
• Success was enabled by a shift in policy and governance, including the Land Act and Village Land Act of 1999, the Forest Policy (1998), and the Forest Act (2002), which decentralized forest management and clarified community land tenure.
• Long-term financial stability was provided by the Norwegian Development Assistance Agency, which began funding the HASHI program in 1989.
• Current threats to the program's sustainability include a 70 percent increase in both human and livestock populations, which increases demand for land and fuelwood, and socioeconomic disparities where wealthy villagers purchase land from poorer households.

APA

Buckingham, K., & Hanson, C. (2015). Case Example: Shinyanga Region, Tanzania. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_Restoration_Diagnostic_Case_Example_Tanzania.pdf

Chicago

Buckingham, Kathleen, and Craig Hanson. Case Example: Shinyanga Region, Tanzania. World Resources Institute, 2015. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_Restoration_Diagnostic_Case_Example_Tanzania.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Buckingham |first1=Kathleen |last2=Hanson |first2=Craig |title=Case Example: Shinyanga Region, Tanzania |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2015 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_Restoration_Diagnostic_Case_Example_Tanzania.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{buckingham2015case, author = {Buckingham, Kathleen and Hanson, Craig}, title = {{Case Example: Shinyanga Region, Tanzania}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_Restoration_Diagnostic_Case_Example_Tanzania.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }