TANZANIA is at the final stages of officially registering and operationalising a total of 82 carbon trading projects in the country, a development that highlights the country’s determination to tap into the economic opportunities available in the vast global environmental sector.
However, the country has so far generated at least 48bn/- from four operational carbon projects, with the revenue recorded during the 2023/2024 financial year.
The development was unveiled by the Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS) Conservation Commissioner, Prof Dos Santos Silayo.
The don revealed the achievement when TFS held a special roundtable meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Land, Natural Resources and Tourism.
Held in Arusha, the meeting was tailored to allow the committee to receive a report on the development of the carbon business sector in Tanzania.
During the meeting, the report was tabled by the TFS Senior Assistant Conservation Commissioner (SACC), Fandey H. Mashimba, on behalf of Prof Silayo.
According to the tabled report, Tanzania is currently finalising procedures and putting in place the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks to register and operationalise a total of 82 carbon projects, a development that will place the country in a better position to benefit from the sector.
“During the 2023/24 financial year, the country bagged at least 48bn/- from four carbon projects,” the report reads in part.
Detailing the progression of the carbon trading sector in Tanzania, Prof Silayo said Tanzania has a wide range of opportunities to gain from the sector.
He observed that the carbon business sector presents a good opportunity for Tanzania to incorporate interventions on forest conservation, efforts to combat climate change and revenue generation under the same framework.
Prof Silayo explained that carbon trading does not mean selling forests; rather, it involves utilising the ability of forests to absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“A carbon credit is a unit of measurement that represents the amount of carbon dioxide emissions reduced or removed by a project,” he said.
He added that it was prudent for Tanzania to seize the opportunity presented by carbon trading by building its capacity to assess proposed projects and agreements, ensuring that investors obtain rights related only to carbon credits, while other resources available in those areas continue to be protected in accordance with the law.
“Tanzania is endowed with approximately 48.1 million hectares of forests, offering vast opportunities for implementing conservation projects, reducing deforestation, tree planting and restoring degraded areas,” he noted.
Apart from the available opportunities, he spoke on the need for Tanzania to consider opportunity costs, especially when the use of an area is changed due to a carbon trading project.
He also highlighted the importance of controlling leakage, whereby activities restricted in one area may be shifted to another area, continuing to contribute to forest degradation.
Speaking on his part, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism, Timotheo Mzava, hailed the Government, through TFS, for providing the committee with a better understanding of carbon business issues and the progression of the sector, saying the knowledge had helped them understand the opportunities available and how the sector should be properly managed.
He similarly challenged lawmakers on the committee to make good use of the knowledge acquired to provide the public with accurate information about carbon trading and its benefits.
So far, Tanzania has established a formalised legal and regulatory framework for carbon trading to monetise its natural resources, protect forests and attract climate finance.