Forests are like nature superheroes that keep everything in balance. They play a vital role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems and provide essential ecological services such as oxygen production, carbon dioxide absorption, habitat for diverse plant and animal species, and support for biodiversity.

Tanzania stands on the global scale when it comes to the abundant yet diverse forest resources including woodlands, coastal forests, mangrove swamps, tropical rainforest, and grassland savannas. Forests cover about 55% of the total area of the Tanzania mainland whereas the total coverage is 48.1 million ha.

93% of forest cover is woodlands (mainly Miombo) and the remaining 7% is classified as humid and lowland forests, mangroves, and plantations. 

Most woodland areas in mainland Tanzania are open type with 10-40% tree canopy cover. Open woodland covers about 41% of the land area and accounts for 53 % of the growing stock.  They are therefore critical in the sustainable management of environmental, ecological, and non-wood forest products and services.

TFS manages 463 forest reserves of different types with a total of 14.5 million hectares. The agency also manages 24 forest plantations (SIZE) for the supply of industrial raw materials for timber products. This has seen TFS supply an average of 1 Million cubic meters of timber per year. The most planted species include pines (Pinus patula, P. elliottii and P. caribaea), cypress, eucalyptus and teak.

On the other hand, TFS manages 20 Forest nature reserves with an area of 924,876 hectares. They are all state owned and managed and no extraction of wood is allowed. The only activities that are allowed in FNRs are research, education, and low-impact nature-based tourism.