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To advance its Disaster Risk Management (DRM) agenda, Samoa is prioritizing country and regional level initiatives to strengthen resilience to climate change; and increasing the resilience of infrastructure to natural hazards and climate change.

(...)The Government recognizes the need to strengthen agriculture data (collection) systems to ensure evidence-based policy decisions particularly relating to (...)addressing the threat of climate change.

Tanzania has vast forest resources; they are a key part of the numerous ecosystems and an important natural resource contributing to the economy. In 2017, the forestry subsector contributed to about 4.3% of Tanzania's GDP. (...)Conservation areas allow little or no forestry activities, as they are preserved ecosystems, but forest plantations and community forest management areas are managed by government or local authorities, mainly for the production of firewood and timber.

(...)Due to the increasing demands for firewood, and its derivative charcoal that is used in nearly all households in Tanzania, there is increasing pressure on forest resources as the population grows. Thus, the subsector faces concerns of unsustainability and increasing deforestation.

The main forestry law in Tanzania Mainland is the Forest Act, 2002 and its related regulations; these provide the overall framework for the sector, and aim to promote and enhance the contribution of the forest sector to the sustainable development of Tanzania. (...)

Nearly all forestry activities in forest reserves require a permit or licence, e.g. to cut and extract timber, to import or export, to gather and take forest produce, to operate sawmills or similar industrial processes, to plant trees, to camping, and to undertake tourist activities. The Act gives the Minister wide powers to prohibit or restrict the movement of timber. also provides for sovereignty of biological resources; the biological resources, and their intangible products, including genetic resources, belong to the Government, and are to be conserved and utilized for the Tanzanian people.

The Forest Ordinance of Tanzania, 1957 continues to provide for the creation of forest reserves and for the protection of forests and forest products within the reserves. The Forest Regulations, 2004 provide further clarifications on the use of forests for multiple purposes, and licensing procedures, including many schedules setting out the associated fees and royalties. In 2015, the Regulations were amended to change the fees for recreational activities in forests and fees for permits, licences or certificates for felling trees, collecting forest produce and other services. The first set of fees were generally higher for Tanzanian citizens and lower for expats and non-residents; and there were significant increases in most of the fees the second set of fees. According to the authorities, these changes were implemented to protect and conserve the forest environment.

In Zanzibar, the main legislation is the Forest Resources Management and Conservation Act No. 10, 1996, the accompanying Forest Resources Management and Conservation Act Regulations, and the Forest Import and Export Regulations, 2014. The Act sets out the different forest management areas, licensing procedures, conservation and protection measures, and provisions on fires and offences, and establishes a forestry development fund; and the Regulations set out fees, compensation, and prices of forest products and activities.

In July 2016, the Prime Minister suspended harvesting and terminated permits on a number of state-owned forestry plantations. The reasons for this move was to conserve forests, improve the environment, and help re-establish and rejuvenate forests. In a related development, the Government has worked over the review period to establish a national campaign on re-forestation, in order to make forests more sustainable. As a result, trees cannot be felled unless they are replaced.

(...)At the international level, Tanzania has participated in the UN's Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and the Conservation of Forest Stocks, Sustainable Management of Forests and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks (REDD+) during the period 2009-13, to help reduce greenhouse gases and reduce deforestation. Tanzania's participation in REDD/REDD+ continues.