By Our Correspondent, Pwani
Tanzania’s Forest Services Agency (TFS) said infrastructure improvements implemented under a forest biodiversity resilience project have helped stimulate eco-tourism growth at the Pugu Kazimzumbwi Nature Forest Reserve in the country’s coastal region.
The initiative forms part of the government’s broader strategy to increase annual tourist arrivals to eight million by 2030 through improved tourism attractions and services.
Speaking during a visit by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Adviser Onesimus Muhwezi, the coordinator of the BUREFOBI-NFR project and Chief Conservator at TFS, Someni Mteleka, said the investment had enhanced the reserve’s appeal to both domestic and international tourists.
Mteleka said the project, jointly funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP, had supported several infrastructure upgrades within the reserve, including the construction of a 12-kilometre road linking Kimani and Maguruwe, two tourist rest shelters and a new entrance gate.
“These improvements have expanded access to services and made it easier for tourists to reach various attractions within the reserve,” he said.
According to TFS, the Pugu Kazimzumbwi reserve recorded an average increase of 69% in tourist arrivals between 2020 and 2025, driven by investment in eco-tourism infrastructure and cooperation between the government and development partners.
Muhwezi praised the Tanzanian government for its management of internationally funded development projects, saying the initiatives had contributed significantly to ecosystem conservation, local economic growth in surrounding communities and increased tourism revenues.
The Pugu Kazimzumbwi Nature Forest Reserve is one of nine protected forest areas covered under the BUREFOBI-NFR project, which aims to strengthen the resilience of forest biodiversity against the effects of climate change in Tanzania.
