Tanzania is a large, natural resources dependent country. Wetlands play a crucial role in the livelihood of fishermen, pastoralists and farmers.

The Tanzanian parliament endorsed the accession of Tanzania to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1999 and approved the Malagarasi-Muyovozi wetlands as the first Ramsar site. One year later Tanzania signed the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. In 2001 the Sustainable and Integrated Management of the alagarasi-Muyovozi Ramsar Site (SIMMORS) project was started, assisted by Danida by 31Million DKK over six years. The experiences at the field and District level in Malagarasi would intentionally feed into the wetland processes at the central level and vice versa.

The importance and multi-sectoral nature of wetland management was recognised by the creation in 2001 of the National Wetlands Working Group (NWWG), comprising 30 key wetland stakeholders, primarily at the central level. In 2003, the Government of Tanzania established the National Wetland Steering Committee (NAWESCO), represented by 8 ministries to provide high-level coordination on policy and management issues related to wetlands.

A 5 year Sustainable Wetlands Management Component began in 2004 and forms part of the Danish Environment Support Programme. The Component is directly supporting environmentally and socially sustainable anagement of land and water-based resources in selected wetland areas. National level functions needed for facilitating better management of wetlands are supported based on a multi-sectoral approach. It is assisting Tanzania's implementation of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands and promotes the further development of a national wetlands programme. It will also contribute towards Tanzania's Poverty Reduction Strategy by developing sustainable wetlands management at community, district, region, catchments, river basin, and national levels.

NORDECO will undertake a mid-term review of the Sustainable Wetlands Management Component in September-October 2007.