REDD+ and associated Risks

According to one CCIAM sponsored research, Most Risks facing REDD+ initiatives in Tanzania are:

Ø Risk of Land use conflicts,

Ø Risk of Poor access to forest and forest resources

Ø Risk of Poor involvement of local people in the REDD+ activities

Ø Risk of Natural disasters i.e. Fire

Do you consider these risks as serious or just theoretical?

Local communities demonstrate readiness for REDD+ in Kigoma, Tanzania

Local communities demonstrate readiness for REDD+ in Kigoma, Tanzania

Local communities in Kigoma demonstrated their readiness for full scale REDD during a recent field visit by technical experts in Kigoma districts, Tanzania. The field visit was facilitated by IUCN project on Strengthening REDD+ Lesson Learning Networks and Information Management funded by the Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA) of the University of Dar es Salaam. Visited pilot project is being implemented by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in Kigoma district. Site visit was organized in Ilagala village in Kigoma.

 The objective of the field visit was to document key lessons from these projects that will augment lessons learnt and best practices from other projects collected during field dialogues held in March this year. Conducted on April 11-12, 2013, the event was attended by representatives from IUCN, National REDD Task Force, National REDD Secretariat and hosts – project staff and local communities. 

Illagala villagers demonstrated readiness for fullscale REDD+ during focused group discussions on REDD+ principles that included drawing a number of lessons from their experiences. Firstly, the understanding of REDD concept was high amongst communities (village government, members of the Village Natural Resource Committee, forest monitors and members of a community based organisation – JUWAMMA (Jumuia ya Watunza Misitu wa Masito). There are proving to be qualified trainers in issues related to REDD pilot projects.

Secondly, there is effective and gender-balanced community participation in project implementation that ensures sustainability of REDD+ activities. In addition, communities’ capacity to implement REDD+ activities has been strengthened by workshops, and the training opportunities from the JGI focussing on forest conservation, forest protection and first aid. Scout training were conducted to 35 forest monitors at Pasiansi Wildlife College. In addition, the projects provided forest gears and equipment to forest monitors which includes 35 bicyles, fire extinguishers, solar panels, field boots and first aid kits.

Communities are also competent in Monitoring Reporting Verification (MRVs) and they demonstrated understanding of the whole process of data collection and recording even though have not yet grasped the computation of carbon stock. Forest monitors provide reports every month to the JGI. These reports include number of visits to the forest per month, report on encroachment signs and problem encountered during visitation. Furthermore, financing of the JUWAMMA to fulfill its activities including REDD has been assured through revenues collected from illegal exploitation of forest products as agreed with Kigoma District Council. The experience of REDD+ pilot project in Kigoma shows that local communities can own REDD+ activities after strengthing their capacity in forest management and empowering the local institutions.

For more information, contact Mr. Abdalla Said Shah, Head of Office/Senior Program Officer – IUCN Tanzania on Abdalla.shah@iucn.org

Climate Change will make hundreds of 'millions homeless'

Carbon dioxide levels indicate rise in temperatures that could lead agriculture to fail on Climate change is amplifying risks from drought, floods, storm and rising seas. Photograph: Simon Maina/AFP

It is increasingly likely that hundreds of millions of people will be displaced from their homelands in the near future as a result of global warming. That is the stark warning of economist and climate change expert Lord Stern following the news last week that concentrations of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere had reached a level of 400 parts per million (ppm).

Massive movements of people are likely to occur over the rest of the century because global temperatures are likely to rise to by up to 5C because carbon dioxide levels have risen unabated for 50 years, said Stern, who is head of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change.

                       

"When temperatures rise to that level, we will have disrupted weather patterns and spreading deserts," he said. "Hundreds of millions of people will be forced to leave their homelands because their crops and animals will have died. The trouble will come when they try to migrate into new lands, however. That will bring them into armed conflict with people already living there. Nor will it be an occasional occurrence. It could become a permanent feature of life on Earth."

The news that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached 400ppm has been seized on by experts because that level brings the world close to the point where it becomes inevitable that it will experience a catastrophic rise in temperatures. Scientists have warned for decades of the danger of allowing industrial outputs of carbon dioxide to rise unchecked.

Instead, these outputs have accelerated. In the 1960s, carbon dioxide levels rose at a rate of 0.7ppm a year. Today, they rise at 2.1ppm, as more nations become industrialised and increase outputs from their factories and power plants. The last time the Earth's atmosphere had 400ppm carbon dioxide, the Arctic was ice-free and sea levels were 40 metres higher.

The prospect of Earth returning to these climatic conditions is causing major alarm. As temperatures rise, deserts will spread and life-sustaining weather patterns such as the North Indian monsoon could be disrupted. Agriculture could fail on a continent-wide basis and hundreds of millions of people would be rendered homeless, triggering widespread conflict.

There are likely to be severe physical consequences for the planet. Rising temperatures will shrink polar ice caps – the Arctic's is now at its lowest since records began – and so reduce the amount of solar heat they reflect back into space. Similarly, thawing of the permafrost lands of Alaska, Canada and Russia could release even more greenhouse gases, including methane, and further intensify global warming.

more infos at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/12/climate-change-expert-stern-displacement

REDD+ lessons from the field shared in Tanzania

REDD+ lessons from the field shared in Tanzania

Technical experts and community representatives shared lessons from selected REDD+ pilot projects in Kilosa and Kondoa districts, Tanzania, on March 4-8, 2013 through field visits and dialogues. Site visits were conducted in Chabima and Dodoma Isanga villages in Kilosa district; and in Mnenia and Mapinduzi villages in Kondoa district. Both visits were followed by dialogue workshops aimed at building consensus on a set of of REDD+ lesson learned from the field activities. In both districts, drivers of deforestation and forest degradation are being addressed through awareness creation, conservation agriculture, beekeeping, use of energy saving stoves and promotion of tree nurseries.

 Visited pilot projects are being implemented by Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFGC)/Mtandao wa Jamii wa Usimamizi wa Misitu Tanzania (MJUMITA) in Kilosa District, and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) in Kondoa District.

Funded by the Institute of Resources Assessment , through the IUCN project on Strengthening REDD+ Lesson Learning Networks and Information Management , the event was attended by representatives from IUCN, National REDD Task Force, National REDD Secretariat and REDD+ pilot projects including participants from Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative (MCDI), CARE – Zanzibar, Climate Change Impacts Adaptation and Mitigation Programme (CCIAM), AWF, TFGC/MJUMITA , Kondoa District Council and local stakeholders.

After the field visit, participants had a workshop to share and agree on key lessons from the field and draw policy recommendations that will directly feed into later dialogues that will involve national level policy makers and representatives from pilot projects. Participants shared first hand lessons arising from site visits. Likewise, representatives from the pilot projects presented implementation based lessons.

Suzana Augustino, from the CCIAM Program noted that “community understanding of REDD+ concept and guiding principles is low” and stressed the need for more efforts on awareness so as to “enhance community participation in and sustainability of REDD+ activities”. MCDI representative, Gloria Massao, pointed that “land use plans have helped in resolving conflicts in many villages but in some few villages, they have been a catalyst for boundary conflict among villagers under the REDD project”.

Several policy recommendations were drawn for policy level dialogues. It was recommended that ‘the capacity of communities be strengthened to enable them carry out carbon measurements now and after the project” including “the development of a simplified, participatory and harmonized methodology for carbon measurements”.

It was further recommended that the participation of long term partners like district councils should be encouraged to ensure sustainability of REDD activities. Mainstreaming of project activities into district plans should be done to ensure for a smooth transition at the end of REDD+ projects.

The field dialogues were filmed to document events and share with other REDD+ stakeholders.

Participants were impressed by field dialogues and appreciated the significance of the REDD+ Learning Network. “With REDD+ trial payments, we have been able to build a village office, complete school toilets and lay the foundation for a health center”, says Chabima Village chairman, Mlonga Mlonga . Elsewhere in the Mnenia project site, a contact farmer reported that the skills and techniques from the agriculture training, provided under the project by AWF, have enabled them to harvest 10 to 20 bags of maize per hectare as opposed to only 1 bag per hectare before the project.

Further, they called for IUCN to explore ways of documenting and sharing lessons from projects that were not represented, including failed projects.

For more information, contact Mr. Abdalla Said Shah, Head of Office/Senior Program Officer – IUCN Tanzania on Abdalla.shah@iucn.org or Nuhu Salasala at nuhu.salasala@iucn.org

TZ-REDD+ NEWSLETTER

TZ-REDD Newsletter                                                                       January, 2013
Issue 9
Go here to view the newsletter online or click here to download the entire newsletter as a pdf.

I. National REDDyness
NRTF Finalizes National REDD+ Strategy and Action Plan
The Tanzania National REDD+ Task Force (NRTF) has completed preparation of the National REDD+ Strategy (‘the Strategy’) and its Action Plan. The executive summary of the final version is available here, with the full documents forthcoming. Read more
CSOs piloting REDD+ comment on the 2nd draft (June 2012) National REDD+ Strategy

The NRTF released a second draft of the National REDD+ Strategy and an accompanying draft Action Plan in June 2012, and comments were accepted through the end of August 2012, as reported in our last newsletter. Read more

National REDD+ Task Force Leading Process to Establish National REDD+ Safeguards

Tanzania’s National REDD+ safeguards are set to be established by 30th July 2013. The government will spearhead the process, led by the National REDD+ Task Force (NRTF). A consultant has been selected to facilitate the NRTF in undertaking activities to put these REDD+ safeguard in place. Read more

Tanzania REDD+ Capacity Needs Assessment and Costs Study Released by GoT, UN-REDD Tanzania Programme and Partners

The Government of Tanzania, through the UN-REDD National Programme and in cooperation with UNDP, recently conducted a Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA) of government institutions for REDD+ at central, regional, district and local levels in Tanzania. Read more

Study on Costs of REDD+ in Tanzania

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) and UNDP, through the UN-REDD National Programme, commissioned a study to get an answer to the question of what REDD+ costs in Tanzania. Read more 

Pilot Projects Share Experiences and Lessons on Equitable Benefit Sharing

A key component of getting REDD+ ready is understanding and establishing equitable and effective benefit sharing mechanisms. A recent joint report and related briefing on Equitable Benefit Sharing: Exploring Experiences and Lessons for REDD+ in Tanzania (here and here) explore the benefit sharing mechanisms that are being developed and tested within the national REDD+ pilot projects. Read more

II. Updates from the Field

Mid-Term Review of REDD+ Pilot Projects

Last year a mid-term review was carried out to assess the nine NGOs implementing REDD+ pilot projects in Tanzania. The main objectives of the review were to determine if the projects are meeting their targets and to provide recommendations for areas of improvement to help the projects achieve their deliverables. Read more

AWF

Project: Advancing REDD in the Kondoa Irangi Hills Forests (ARKFor)

Implementing organization: African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)

Submitted by Godlisten Matilya

To further establishment of project reference emission levels and compilation of the Project Document (PD) under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), AWF initiated project validation in July 2012. A leading certification organization, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), was engaged to lead the project validation process using VM0006 Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) methodology. Read more

MCDI

Project: Combining REDD, PFM and FSC certification in South-Eastern Tanzania

Implementing organization: Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative (MCDI)

Submitted by Glory Massao

(Updates also included in pilot projects lessons summary launched by NRTF at COP18)

Recent project achievements: MCDI has signed new REDD agreements with 3 of the 6 participating villages. The project is re-measuring stem mortality in the previously established permanent sample plots, as well as designing a method for monitoring large stem mortality. Read more

TFCG and MJUMITA

Project: Making REDD Work for Communities and Forest Conservation in Tanzania

Implementing organizations: Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) and MJUMITA (Community Forest Conservation Network of Tanzania)

Submitted by TFCG/MJUMITA

The project has demonstrated a community-oriented REDD payment model that has brought benefits to communities in terms of direct payments; investment in community development projects; and more effective and sustainable management of the forests and other natural resources that underpin rural livelihoods in 17 villages. Read more

III. Highlights from COP18 at Doha! 

Progress on REDD at CoP18

A team of Tanzania civil society representatives followed all 14 days of the UNFCCC climate change conference in Doha. Despite the short-term uncertainty about REDD+, including as we emerge with little substantive progress from COP, we can identify some key issues for the long-term future of REDD+ based on the outcomes from Doha and on experience with piloting REDD+ in Tanzania. Read more

Government of Tanzania and REDD+ Pilot Projects Share their Experience at COP18

The Government of Tanzania, a Party to the UNFCCC, and national stakeholders including the CSOs facilitating REDD+ pilot projects shared their work and experiences with the international community at COP18. Read more

Documents and policy briefs from the Government of Tanzania showcased at COP18

The Government of Tanzania, particularly the NRTF working with its Secretariat, released several publications in November 2012 to showcase at COP18 (all available here). This included the Executive Summary of the final Tanzania National REDD+ Strategy. Read more

Pilot projects endorse Key Messages for COP18

The eight CSOs currently facilitating implementation of REDD+ pilot projects in Tanzania endorsed key messages for the consideration of Parties at COP 18. Read more

Pilot projects highlight their joint work and related lessons learned

The national Tanzania REDD+ pilot projects cover different regions, and have diverse aims and approaches. Nonetheless, the pilots have been working collaboratively on a number of fronts, to exchange lessons learned across projects, and to advance learning, action and appropriate REDD+ policy in Tanzania and internationally. Read more

Government of Tanzania shares experience on REDD+ readiness

The United Republic of Tanzania, with the Clinton Climate Initiative, hosted a side event on REDD+ Readiness: Lessons Learnt and Way Forward on Saturday 1 December. Read more

IIED, TNRF and GBM look at global and local lessons on making REDD+ pro-poor

On Monday 5 December, TNRF co-hosted a side event with the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) and the Green Belt Movement (GBM) entitled, “What’s needed to make REDD+ pro-poor? A local and Global perspective.” The event, attended by over 60 participants at COP 18, was aimed at sharing lessons and exploring a variety of options on how to make REDD+ pro-poor. Read more

Some Other REDD+ Relevant Side Events

On 29 November IIED held a workshop entitled, ‘What does it take to achieve pro-poor REDD+?’

On 28 November, CIFOR and GOFC-GOLD co-hosted a side event entitled, “REDD+ stepwise progress in national forest monitoring, MRV, reference levels and assessing drivers”.

Read more

IV. Resources

PARTICIPATORY FOREST CARBON ASSESSMENT AND REDD+

Participatory Forest Carbon Assessment and REDD+: Learning from Tanzania

Abstract

Research initiatives and practical experiences have demonstrated that forest-related data collected by local communities can play an essential role in the development of national REDD+ programs and its' measurement, reporting, verification (MRV) systems. In Tanzania, the national REDD+ Strategy aims to reward local communities participating in forest management under Participatory Forest Management (PFM). Accessing carbon finances requires among other things, accurate measurements of carbon stock changes through conventional forest inventories, something which is rarely done in PFM forests due to its high cost and limited resources. The main objective of this paper is to discuss experiences of Participatory Forest Carbon Assessment (PFCA) in Tanzania. The study revealed that villagers who participated in PFCA were able to perform most steps for carbon assessment in the field. A key challenge in future is how to finance PFCA and ensure the technical capacity at local level.

Read more at: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfr/2012/126454/

REDD+: HIMA Project: Conserving Zanzibar’s Natural Forests

Conserving Zanzibar’s Natural Forests

The forests of Unguja and Pemba Islands in the Zanzibar archipelago lie less than 40 kilometers from the Tanzanian mainland and form an important part of the East Africa Coastal Forests Eco-region. The area is considered one of the world’s top 200 “hotspots” for biodiversity. Today, natural forests are mostly found on rocky land or areas left behind during the establishment of coconut and clove plantations. Despite their global biodiversity and climate-regulating values, these forests are rapidly disappearing due to local people’s dependence on forest goods (especially wood for fuel) and an absence of ready alternatives to logging or clearing land for

agricultural fields and infrastructure. This pressure is exacerbated by insecure land tenure and forest rights, which reduce people’s motivation for sustainable use. For these island forests to survive, incentives for sustainable forest management and mechanisms for their fair and effective governance must be quickly put in place. This is the purpose of Hifadhi ya Misitu ya Asili (Conservation of Natural Forests), or HIMA. The four-year (2010-2013) project, which is supported by the Governments of Zanzibar and Norway will explore how carbon finance can be used to tackle the underlying causes of deforestation and create an enabling environment for the sustainable management of forest goods and  services.

Read more: http://www.theredddesk.org/sites/default/files/care_hima_2011.pdf