The REDD Agenda in Tanzania – Lessons

1. The REDD Agenda in Tanzania – Lessons Professor Pius Yanda Director, Institute of Resource Assessment & Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Chair in Environment and Climate Change, University of Dar Es Salaam

2. Background Climate change is a challenge facing human society in the 21st century. It is now affecting both natural and social systems. African continent is affected most. Climate changed is caused by global warming This is associated with human induced green house gas emissions Carbon dioxide being the most significant gas.

3. Background IPCC established that about 20% of the emitted carbon dioxide is through deforestation Mainly in the tropical regions including Tanzania Efforts to reduce rate of deforestation would significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted through deforestation. At UNFCCC COP 13 in December 2007, it was agreed that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) should be considered for inclusion in a future protocol.

4. Why Tanzania Engage on REDD+ • Tanzania has a total area of about 94.5 million ha • 88.6 million ha are covered by landmass • The rest is water bodies. • A total of 35.3 million ha of forestland • 6 million ha comprise of reserved forests, • 2 million ha are forests in national parks • 17.3 million ha (49% of all forestland) are unprotected forests in General Land.

5. Why Tanzania Engage on REDD+ • Forests in General Land are ‘open access’, characterized by; • unsecured land tenure, • shifting cultivation, • annual wild fires, • harvesting of wood fuel, • poles and timber, • heavy pressure for conversion to other competing land uses, such as agriculture, livestock grazing, settlements and industrial development. • The rate of deforestation is estimated at 412,000 ha per annum • Taking place mostly in the General Land forests. • Efforts towards forest conservation aim at reversing this trend.

6. Why Tanzania Engage on REDD+ • In Tanzania, the main sources of finance for forest management are currently: • charges levied on the major forest products and services, • state budget allocation to the forestry administration, and • development partners’ grants for forestry projects. • The limited financial resources require new sources of investment in forest management outside these traditional channels.

7. Components of REDD+ Reducing emissions from deforestation Reducing emissions from forest degradation Conservation of forest Carbon stocks Sustainable management of forest Enhancement of forest Carbon stocks

8. Opportunities REDD has potential for contributing to national foreign income. REDD can promote rural development and contribute to the efforts of reducing poverty of the majority. But also REDD can mitigate climate change challenges, REDD can enhance biodiversity conservation and ecosystem stability. REDD provides ecosystem based adaptation

9. Challenges Heavy dependency on natural resources for livelihoods and economic development REDD based land use system changes Misinterpretation of policies Poor law enforcement e.g in preventing illegal logging Lack of regular, reliable, specific and accurate data for computing baseline emissions Lack of equitable benefit sharing mechanisms Conflicting interests among various stakeholders in developing and implementing REDD initiatives

10. Addressing the Key Challenges In response to these challenges, Norway launched an International Climate and Forest Initiative (ICFI) in 2007, with a global commitment towards REDD efforts at international and national levels. The Climate Change Partnership between Norway and Tanzania, which was signed in April 2008, is part of this global initiative to support REDD initiative in Tanzania.

11. REDD Initiative in Tanzania • The Task Force comprises of 7 members, • 3 from Vice President’s Office (VPO-DoE) • 3 from Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT – FBD) • 1 from Zanzibar and • The National REDD Secretariat: • Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA), University of Dar es Salaam • The National REDD Framework

12. The Draft National REDD+ Strategy Objectives of the Strategy Key Intervention Areas

13. Goal: The main goal of the National REDD+ Strategy is: to facilitate effective and coordinated implementation of REDD+ related policies, processes and activities so as to contribute to climate change agenda and overall sustainable development.

14. Objective: • National REDD+ Strategy is expected to guide; • the implementation and coordination of mechanisms required for Tanzania to benefit from a post-2012 internationally approved system for forest carbon trading • This will be based on demonstrated emission reductions from deforestation and forest degradation.

15. Structure of the Strategy Document Chapter One: The Introductory Chapter Chapter Two: Describes in a nutshell the Strategy development process. Chapter Three: provides an overview of the forest estate in Tanzania and highlights some of the major efforts made to conserve it in an increasingly participatory manner. Chapter Four: Gives an overview of forest governance for REDD+, Chapter Five: Outlines the modalities for baseline establishment, monitoring, verification and reporting. Chapter Six : Illustrates the key strategic elements for REDD+ implementation in Tanzania. Finally, Chapter Seven provides a framework for Strategic Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the Strategy and highlights some of the potential risks that may face the country as it implements the National REDD+ Strategy.

16. Policy Relevance The National REDD+ Strategy in Tanzania has been developed based on the National Framework for REDD developed in 2009. The framework is based on the objectives of reducing emissions related to deforestation and forest degradation as well as reducing poverty of forest dependent communities. The REDD+ Strategy is closely linked to the current national growth and development strategies such as the National Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme (MKUKUTA), the National Forest Programme and other strategies which contribute to effective conservation and utilization of Tanzania’s natural and renewable resources and improving the livelihoods of its people.

17. The Process: • The strategy development process has undergone three phases: • A Preliminary analytical phase, • A Strategic analysis and Piloting phase • A Consolidation phase

18. Knowledge Building: • This involved the scoping studies to; • identify potentials for REDD+ in Tanzania, • access capacities for REDD+ implementation, • identify gaps and issues to be addressed. • In this stage institutional structures were established • REDD+ Task Force • Secretariat. • A National REDD+ Framework was also developed. • Study tours were conducted in Brazil, Australia and Norway • Lessons learned from these tours have been reflected in this Strategy.

19. Stakeholders’ Consultations: A series of awareness raising and consultative meetings were conducted nationwide. The REDD+ consultation plan divided the country into 8 zones, including Zanzibar, and held meetings with people working in forestry and agriculture. The Task Force and IRA visited communities practicing participatory forest management (PFM), a key REDD+ entry point. SWOT Analysis for establishing and implementing REDD+ in Tanzania

20. Key Intervention Areas (Matrices): REDD+ baseline scenario, monitoring, reporting and verification framework Financial mechanisms and incentive schemes Stakeholders engagement in the REDD+ implementation process Coordination of REDD+ schemes Understanding carbon market options Governance mechanism for REDD+ Training programme and Infrastructure for REDD+ Current knowledge and scientific understanding of the target forests and adjacent communities improved through research An effective information and knowledge communication system on REDD+ issues REDD+ strategy options for addressing drivers of D&D

21. National REDD Strategy – Next Steps Shared with key stakeholders (vertically and horizontally) Shared with expert groups (Technical Working Group) Synthesis of lessons learned from the pilot projects Prepare action plan Submission to the government for approval

22. Technical Working Group • The proposed technical groups include: • Legal & Governance • Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) • Financial Mechanism (REDD Fund) • Energy drivers • Agriculture Drivers

23. Thank You!

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