The Land and Natural resources department is keying itself in promoting and ensuring the conservation
and sustainable management of the district’s natural resources ecosystems including land and its
biodiversity in the manner that does not jeopardize future generations. Land in the district constitutes one of
the major four natural resources namely land, forest, water and minerals. As the primary resource, land
affects other sectors which are of paramount important to the existence of the district. Land is among of the
major source of revenue to district council; the council has managed to collect its land rent a total of
6,200,300 Tshs from July 2013 to 63,139,454 Tshs in July 2015, which is almost 40% of the total land rents
collection.
Natural resources also play a significant role in maintaining ecological balance, protect soils from erosion
and conserve water and wildlife resources. For many years, forests and its products have remained useful
and significant sources of domestic energy at household level and as industrial raw materials apart from
provision of non-wood products. Forest products such as timber, poles and charcoal contributed much to
revenue for the central government and to Njombe district council; and improved community household
income. In Njombe district council, natural resources has remained a heart of the community whose
majority are small scale farmers involved and depends on tree planting and its products businesses to improve their livelihoods. The sector contributed 2.5 percent to country’s GDP in 2012 (Economic Survey Report, 2012).
In promoting, ensuring the conservation and sustainable management of the district’s natural resources,
the department has the following key functions:
Involve and empower communities in the management of land & natural resources ecosystems.
Develop and implement a national strategy for rehabilitation and restoration of degraded natural
resources ecosystems and water catchment area with active community participation.
Formulate strategies to increase tree cover.
Promote and enhance best practices for optimal and sustainable urban and peri-urban land uses.
Involve and empower communities in land utilization and management.
Promote national land policy implementation and enforce land laws.
Involve community participation investing in sustainable tourism (including Ecotourism & Cultural
tourism) and Wildlife conservation activities and initiatives.
Encourage community participation in tourism industry
The department has the requirement of about 35 staffs; currently only about 13 staffs are available this
makes the shortage of about 22 staffs all from ward level. The department has one vehicle and three
Motorcycles supported by DANIDA funded programme which in one events or other have served the
department in operationalising its roles and responsibilities. The department operates under Three sectors
