PRO-NDC-ACT: Promoting participatory processes to implement NDC through nature-based solutions in urban, rural and coastal landscapes in Tanzania
PRO-NDC-ACT: Promoting participatory processes to implement NDC through nature-based solutions in urban, rural and coastal landscapes in Tanzania
A project of the International Climate Initiative from the German Federal Government - Restoration of forests in Tanzania as a contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation and for the promotion of biodiversity
Project Subject
The negative consequences of the ongoing global crises of this time - climate change and loss of biodiversity - are also becoming increasingly apparent in Tanzania. In large parts of the East African country environmental conditions are still favorable for productive agriculture and there are still relatively large areas of intact ecosystems, including forests, savannahs, wetlands, lakes and rivers, Even two of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots are found in Tanzania (Eastern Afromontane & Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa). However, land use intensity and land consumption are rapidly increasing in both urban and rural areas, with particularly negative effects on forest ecosystems. Between 2001 and 2022 Tanzania lost 30.200 km² (11 %) of its tree cover. At the same time, as a result of climate change, the region is experiencing a reduction in water availability (rising temperatures accompanied by little change in annual rainfall), reduced predictability of seasonal changes between rainy and dry seasons, and an increasing incidence of extreme weather events (droughts, heavy rains, storms). All of this leads to ecosystem degradation, loss of biodiversity, and a decline in essential ecosystem services. As a consequence, significant impacts on agricultural production as well as on other land use activities to secure livelihoods in the affected regions are to be expected.
The project PRO-NDC-ACT ("Promotion of Participatory Processes for the Implementation of NDC through Nature-Based Solutions in Urban, Rural and Coastal Landscapes of Tanzania") of the Chair of Ecological Economics aims at developing and implementing nature-based solutions with the participation of the affected village communities to address the problems mentioned above. In concrete terms, it is planned to reforest deforested areas and to develop them in an ecologically sustainable manner, taking into account the utilization needs of the local population. In this way, greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced, the risks resulting from climate change minimized and ecosystem services promoted.
Project Implementation
Bernd Siebenhüner and Maximilian Petzold from the Chair of Ecological Economics at the University of Oldenburg are responsible for the coordination and technical management of the project. The implementation on site is carried out by the Tanzanian project partners of the non-governmental organization Climate Action Network Tanzania. In addition, Prof. Dr. Pius Yanda from the University of Dar es Salaam and Prof. Dr. Michael Kleyer from the AG Landscape Ecology of the University of Oldenburg support the project with their expertise.
In a first step, socio-economic and ecological background information was from three possible project regions: Bagamoyo (Coast Region), Pangani (Tanga Region) and Southern Pare Mountains (Kilimanjaro Region). The above regions are within the natural ranges of mangrove forests (Pangani), East African coastal forests (Bagamoyo & Pangani), and Eastern Arc montane forests (Pare Mountains).
During an initial field trip to the three potential project regions from 28.09.2022 to 06.10.2022 the project team identified communities that have been affected by deforestation but still have natural forests within their area of influence and show interest in forest restoration and sustainable forest management.
Based on the findings of the initial field trip and predefined criteria for site selection the visited regions were evaluated with respect to their suitability for the implementation of the proposed project measures. Finally, the following sites were selected:
- Kwasinge Forest and probably Kibubu Forest Reserve (East African Coastal Forest) as well as the mangrove belt of the Pangani River Estuary in Pangani District, Tanga Region
- Vumari Forest Reserve (submontane dry forest of the Eastern Arc) in Same District, Kilimanjaro Region
In the selected regions reforestation initiatives will be established . To this end, village communities will be closely involved in individual project activities. These include:
- Selection of suitable afforestation areas,
- definition of concrete development goals for the afforestation areas,
- selection of tree species to be planted, taking into account local soil, water and climate conditions (predicted state as a result of climate change), local knowledge and the intended use or desired state of development,
- establishment of tree nurseries to grow seedlings of the target tree species,
- tree planting and
- ecologically sustainable management of reforestation sites and other parts of the forest reserves.
Through public meetings, consultations and workshops, the project partners aim to involve local communities in all activities right from the beginning, ensuring that the reforestation projects are supported by local initiatives beyond the ending of PRO-NDC-ACT and thus remain effective.
Duration
3 years (until 30.06.2025)
Funding
The project is funded by the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Government to the amount of around 520,000 Euros.
Partners
The participation of local people is at the heart of the project. The main partner of the University of Oldenburg is the Tanzanian non-governmental organization Climate Action Network Tanzania.
Independent Complaint Mechanism (IKI ICM)
If you suffer (potential) negative social and/or environmental consequences from this project, or if you wish to report the improper use of funds you can voice your complaints and seek redress through the independent complaint mechanism (IKI ICM). The complaints mechanism is based at Zukunft - Umwelt - Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH, the Federal Goverment's project management agency for the IKI funding programme. Complaints can be filed by filling out a complaint form and sending it to the complaints mechanism by post or e-mail.