Tanzanian government announces inclusion of 54 villages in carbon trade
What you need to know:
- The 54 villages are located in the Great Ruaha River Catchment Area (GRRC) and the Lake Rukwa Basin
Iringa. The government has announced that a total of 54 villages located in seven district councils will be incorporated into the carbon trade through the Sustainable Landscape Restoration (SLR) and Biodiversity Conservation Project managed by the Vice President's Office.
This announcement was made on Thursday, August 1, 2024, by the national coordinator, Dr Damas Mapunda, during a special meeting of the national management committee of the project held in Iringa town.
Dr Mapunda announced that the project for the restoration of natural vegetation and environmental conservation is funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
This national initiative is already underway, with 28,000 hectares in 54 villages across seven district councils.
"The purpose of this meeting is to review the overall implementation, assess our progress, examine the mode of implementation, strategize on achieving our goals, and address any challenges," said Dr Mapunda.
He added that the government is satisfied with the implementation of the project in the 54 villages located in the Great Ruaha River Catchment Area (GRRC) and the Lake Rukwa Basin.
The project aims to restore 2.5 million hectares by 2030.
He identified the seven district councils implementing this project as Iringa, Njombe, Mbarali, Wanging'ombe, Sumbawanga, Mpimbwe, and Tanganyika.
The project concentrates on five key priorities aimed at empowering villages within the Great Ruaha River Catchment Area (GRRC) and the Lake Rukwa Basin.
Dr Mapunda stated that one of the project's priorities is to enable farmers to practice climate-resilient agriculture (CC) through demonstration farms.
He added that the project promotes sustainable livestock farming by maintaining fewer but productive livestock and economically empowering the community with alternative activities to reduce tree cutting.
Mr Doyi Manzenzele, Technical Advisor for the SLR Project from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), stated that their role is to help the project achieve its goals, particularly by strengthening legal and institutional frameworks.
Additionally, they aim to empower the Vice President's Office at ministerial, public institution, regional secretariat, and district council levels to effectively implement the landscape restoration and environmental conservation project (SLR).
Mr Robert Masunya, Executive Director of Iringa District Council, said that the project will help combat climate change issues to protect various energy sources.
He stated that Iringa DC is one of the district councils in the country with water sources feeding power generation dams, including the Mtera Dam and the Julius Nyerere Hydro Power.
Grace Chitanda, director of the Lake Rukwa Water Board, stated that the project for the restoration of natural vegetation and the environment is economically and socially important.
The SLR project, which costs over Sh25.8 billion.
