Travel Report From Tanzania

Senior Advisor: Annika Bach

In April, I travelled to Tanzania to visit the Faith4Restoration project, which CKU, in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Tanzania, RECODA and PULS, has implemented.
The project focuses on restoring grasslands for the pastoralist Maasai communities, whose livelihoods depend on their cattle. Faith4Restoration operates in three villages: Orbomba, Kimokouwa and Eworendeke in northern Tanzania, and has now been running for a year.
I arrive in Tanzania in the middle of the rain season. Fully prepared, with my rubber boots and rainwear, I reach the area surrounding the three villages only to realize that it has not rained for over a month. It is bone dry. According to the locals, the rain came early this year, but  it was only short-lived. During my visit, I witness how the absence of rain is drying out the land: soil erosion has created deep cracks in the ground, while invasive species are spreading rapidly, depleting the soil, preventing grass from growing. The consequences are severe. Maasai cattle are dying, and families are losing their primary source of income.

Faith-based actors bring broader engagement

The partnership with WWF arose from the organisation’s recognition, as a secular actor, of the importance of involving religious stakeholders in the effort to promote nature restoration and climate adaptation. WWF themselves point out that religious groups represent a significant portion of civil society, with around 85 percent of the global population affiliated with a religion or belief system. This argument is supported by research from the Global Land Initiative’s Faith and Restoration group (UNCCD), which shows that 92 percent of surveyed faith communities are engaged in environmental restoration projects, while 74 percent are already implementing programmes addressing restoration and climate adaptation.
Faith4Restoration works with 25 Christian, Muslim and traditionally affiliated religious leaders. During my visits to the three villages, it became clear that these leaders are making a tangible difference. The project was praised locally for being inclusive and participatory, as it works through established community structures. It became apparent to me, that the involvement of religious leaders fosters a sense of local ownership, something that can otherwise be difficult to achieve. The 25 leaders described how they have restored grassland on their own property, that members of their congregations have followed suit, and that, through collaboration with village leaders, they have mobilised the community to rehabilitate 75 hectares of land for a shared grassland zone.
I visited a Methodist church by the foothill of Mount Longido that was at risk of collapsing due to deep cracks in the soil. When I arrived, congregation members were actively sealing the cracks using a method, which they had learned through the project. I also drove through areas where villagers were clearing large tracts of invasive species and saw how piles of uprooted plants testified to the scale of the effort. It was strikingly clear that the involvement of religious leaders had helped generating strong local engagement.

Including religious leaders in a decision-making community

Faith4Restoration also operates at a structural level, promoting sustainable grazing practices and strengthening governance of land, grassland areas and water resources. Overgrazing and a lack of regulation are significant contributing factors to the challenges faced daily by pastoralist communities. The Maasai relies on traditional rotational systems of grazing, carefully planning which areas are used at specific times. The project has trained religious leaders to collaborate with local decision-makers, and all 25 leaders now serve as permanent members of local committees on water, grazing and land management. They collaborate with local authorities to identify sustainable solutions to the challenges their communities are facing.

Although religious actors are often underrepresented in local political processes, their voices carry considerable weight within the communities. Therefore, they are vital partners in effort to protect the natural resources upon which livelihood in the Global South depends.
The Maasai are still facing significant local challenges, including drought and soil degradation. Yet, despite these difficulties, my visit left me with a sense of hope. Local religious leaders and village leaders have succeeded in mobilising communities and inspiring collective action, laying the groundwork for improved conditions and more resilient livelihoods.