Welcome to
REFOREST Programme

A Regional Research School in Forest Sciences (REFOREST) is a new, innovative, interdisciplinary and unique regional PhD degree programme for training future generation forest scientists in Africa. The programme is hosted at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and is anchored in partnerships where universities in the region in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) support PhD training in forest sciences.

OUR PARTNERS

Impacting and improving livelihoods and environment in Africa

Activities

REFOREST Programme brings together intellectual resources within Eastern and Southern Africa and from across different regions of the world to build up scientific excellence in forest sciences within the region. Through an innovative regional approach, it strengthens partnerships, where several universities join hands to support a regional PhD training programme. The overall vision and mission of this programme are

Research Themes

REFOREST Programme initially includes three thematic areas in which the PhD students will conduct their research. These are: Commercial forestry and bio-economy, Natural forests Management and Agroforestry, forest-agriculture interactions and synergies, and conflict management. Cross-cutting areas for all the themes include gender, policy, livelihoods, forest governance, environmental and economic sustainability. 

Partners

REFOREST programme is hosted by the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania. It is being implemented in partnership with five universities in Eastern and Southern African sub-region and Sweden mainly Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources Hawassa University in Ethiopia, Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique 

LATEST ACTIVITIES

REFOREST Programme Policy Briefs – April 2025

Background The Sida funded REFOREST Africa Programme produced 18 PhD graduates after 4 years of training (2021 to 2024) at Sokoine University of agriculture (SUA) in collaboration with five partner universities namely Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Eduardo Mondlane…

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Tigabu Redae’s Seminars Reflections

Among the various PhD students undergoing the learning process at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), conducting seminars represents a critical stage. These seminars provide an opportunity for students to present their research results and outline the progress of their studies…

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Sustainability of Miombo Management

By Americo Manjate PhD student under REFOREST Programme at Sokoine University of Agriculture Miombo is one of the most extensive forest formations in Africa. Due to its resilience, this ecosystem has become the basis of subsistence for about 100 million…

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Dynamics of Energy, Economy and Environment

Above: REFOREST students and lecturers at Kilombero Sugar Company (Photo credit Alberto Manhica) Like all developing countries, Tanzania strives to enhance affordable, accessible and environmental friendly energy supply for its socio-economic development. The development of renewable energy has been of…

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The more biodiversity, the better the society!

Reforest students and instructors at Amani Nature Reserve – Mbomole view (1050 m.a.s.l) (photo credit: Alberto Manhica) Tanzania’s rich biodiversity positions the country as one of the mega-biodiversity hotspots in the world. The coastal and Eastern Afromontane are of special…

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Orientation of Resource Persons

The REFOREST Programme organized a combined face-to face and zoom workshop from 20th to 22nd January 2021 to orientate resource persons involved in teaching the PhD courses during the first semester (January-June 2021).   The 25 participants came from all the…

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REFOREST Programme PhD Scholarships Awardees

In May, 2020 REFOREST Programme hosted at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and supported by Sida announced a call for 20 PhD scholarships in Forest Sciences. Following this call, the programme received 334 applications (18% were female). REFOREST Programme Academic…

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