Monetary incentives to avoid deforestation under the Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD)+ climate change mitigation scheme in Tanzania

Abstract

The paper estimates and compares the level of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) payments required to compensate for the opportunity costs (OCs) of stopping the conversion of montane forest and miombo woodlands into cropland in two agro-ecological zones in Morogoro Region in Tanzania. Data collected from 250 households were used for OC estimation. REDD+ payment was estimated as the net present value (NPV) of agricultural rent and forest rent during land clearing, minus net returns from sustainable wood harvest, divided by the corresponding reduction in carbon stock. The median compensation required to protect the current carbon stock in the two vegetation types ranged from USD 1 tCO2e−1 for the montane forest to USD 39 tCO2e−1 for the degraded miombo woodlands, of which up to 70 % and 16 %, respectively, were for compensating OCs from forest rent during land clearing. The figures were significantly higher when the cost of farmers’ own labor was not taken into account in NPV calculations. The results also highlighted that incentives in the form of sustainable harvests could offset up to 55 % of the total median OC to protect the montane forest and up to 45 % to protect the miombo woodlands, depending on the wage rates. The findings suggest that given the possible factors that can potentially affect estimates of REDD+ payments, avoiding deforestation of the montane forest would be feasible under the REDD+ scheme. However, implementation of the policy in villages around the miombo area would require very high compensation levels.

Future prospect and sustainability of wood fuel resources in Tanzania

“…Charcoal production continues to exert more pressure on forests as well as woodlands mainly due to the increased in urbanization in Dar es Salaam city [68]. Firewood harvesting and charcoal production continue to threaten Miombo woodlands [56,105,106] as well as mangrove forests [107]. Before any irreversible changes occur, this study proposes the use of alternative fuel resources, improved conversion technologies and deployment of participatory forest management.…”

The Land Use and Cover Change in Miombo Woodlands under Community Based Forest Management and Its Implication to Climate Change Mitigation: A Case of Southern Highlands of Tanzania

“…Miombo woodlands are also important for carbon storage and sequestration [18,19], biodiversity habitats [17], and timber and nontimber products [8,20]. Yet despite all these, the woodlands are being steadily converted to other uses such as pasture, fuel wood extraction zones, and farmlands which can generate greater private economic returns [21].…”

9. Er karbonlagring i skog i Tanzania et kostnadseffektivt tiltak mot klimaendring? En modellstudie

“…Den økonomiske lønnsomheten av REDD+ avhenger av mange forhold, bl.a. skogtype (Araya & Hofstad, 2016;Olsen & Bishop, 2009;Pandit et al, 2017;Rakatama et al, 2017;Venter et al, 2009) og alternativ arealanvendelse (Coomes et al, 2008;Olsen and Bishop, 2009;Phan et al, 2014;Rakatama et al, 2017;Wulan, 2012). Alternativkostnaden er lav for tropisk regnskog med høy biomassetetthet (Bellassen & Gitz, 2008;Osborne & Kiker, 2005;Olsen & Bishop, 2009;Yamamoto & Takeuchi, 2012), og høy for tørr tropisk skog (Borrego & Skutsch, 2014;Merger et al, 2012).…”