REDD+ benefit sharing in Tanzania

Reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation plus (REDD+) has been developing in Tanzania since 2008 and the government is working on the development of a national strategy and action plan, as well as institutions that will enable it to implement a national REDD+ scheme. A number of studies are currently underway to help inform the detail of a future REDD strategy. Ten pilot projects are in development (REDD strategy 2010).

All of these processes are overseen by a National Climate Change Steering Committee, which includes a REDD+ Working Group. The Forestry and Beekeeping Division will play a major role in REDD+ implementation. The framework document (Government of Tanzania, 2009) which has served as an initial basis for REDD+ strategy development, and various scoping studies (Katoomba, 2009) outline criteria for selecting appropriate REDD+ sites and activities. One of the policy approaches that is emphasized in draft policy strategies is the use of Participatory Forest Management (PFM) applied through Joint Forest Management (JFM) and Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) as one of the main ways to address deforestation and degradation drivers through REDD+ in Tanzania. Although it is not completely clear how this would be managed in practice, the implication is that REDD+ funding will be used to speed up the rate of expansion of land area under PFM (currently only 12.8 percent of the country’s forests are under PFM) and as a potentially new finance stream within community forestry systems.

If benefit sharing occurs via the distribution of finance by the government (received in accordance with performance against a national reference level) to local levels, the ‘vertical’ benefit sharing arrangements (i.e., between government and communities) might be expected to differ between these two community forestry approaches. This is because the government retains forest ownership rights in the case of JFM, whilst in CBFM, communities are the rights holders and duty bearers. Studies on benefit sharing in these systems indicate that there are still challenges in ensuring benefits for the poorer members of communities.

Please click here to download.