Building on more than a decade of conservation work in western Tanzania, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) brought together a broad consortium of organizations to respond to the Norwegian call for REDD+ funding proposals in 2009. Once they obtained funding for the initiative in Kigoma, known as Building REDD Readiness in the Masito Ugalla Ecosystem Pilot Area in Support of Tanzania’s National REDD Strategy, they helped establish a community-based organization linked to the Kigoma District Council called Jumuiya ya Watunza Msitu wa Masito (JUWAMMA). The objective of the initiative was to reduce deforestation and forest degradation driven by demand for agricultural land and fuelwood. Challenges include the exceptionally low per capita income and high population growth rate in the Masito Ugalla region, where the majority of households depend on natural resources, including NTFPs. Within this region, the REDD+ initiative primarily targeted seven pilot villages along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and included another eight villages surrounding general (open-access) lands in the Masito dry forest ecosystem in order to control leakages. In order to protect these forests, the initiative established forest patrols, encouraged beekeeping as an alternative income source and enhanced capacity and governance mechanisms for local communities and government institutions to administer and benefit from REDD+. Since funding for the REDD+ initiative ended in June 2013, JUWAMMA has continued working with the seven intervention villages to build on these initial steps.

12.1 Basic facts: Where, who, why and when

12.1.1 Geography

This initiative was located primarily in Kigoma (now Uvinza) district in the Kigoma region, with a small portion in Mpanda district in the Katavi region.1 These are among the poorest and the most heavily forested districts in Tanzania and thus an obvious place to pilot REDD+. The initiative focuses on the Masito Ugalla Ecosystem (MUE), a forested landscape of 10,827 km2 under varied management and ownership regimes. There are two predominant types of native forest: miombo woodland (dominated by Brachystegia species) and lowland rain forest in the valley bottoms (Zahabu 2011). In addition to woodlands, a large proportion of the region is covered in grasslands. Rainfall is highly variable across the landscape, ranging from 600 mm to 1500 mm/year.

The REDD+ initiative is being implemented in seven pilot villages near Lake Tanganyika (Figure 12.1) in the former Kigoma district. The total population of the seven villages is 69,410 (JGI 2011). The initiative aims to protect 900 km2 of the Masito Forest, which is under threat from population growth, an expanding road network and increasing demand for fuelwood. The population is growing and this is partly due to an influx of refugees from Burundi, DRC and Rwanda, some of whom have settled permanently in the region and some of whom are staying with relatives and friends. In either case, this influx has increased pressure on natural resources. The CIFOR-GCS research described here was conducted in a sample of four of the seven villages, with a total population of 28,454.

The initiative area has an exceptionally low income per capita and high population growth rate (URT 2009a). In their proposal to Norway, JGI noted that socioeconomic studies conducted in 2007 had diagnosed low levels of literacy, lack of income-generating options and poor understanding of national regulations of woodland use. One proximate cause of deforestation is demand for agricultural land, both for small farmers to produce local crops such as bananas, potatoes and maize for the local market, and for large-scale2 agribusiness seeking to expand commodity production. The other significant livelihood in the region is fishing, which is both an important economic industry engaging most communities along the lakeshore and a key source of protein.

12.1.2 Stakeholders and funding

JGI is an international nonprofit organization founded by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall. JGI initially focused on research and conservation of chimpanzees around Gombe National Park. From 2004, JGI also sought to address rapid deforestation and degradation outside of the park. Starting in 2007, they expanded their conservation efforts south with the MUE pilot project. Building on this project, they obtained USD 2.76 million from RNE in 2009 to implement REDD+ with a consortium of organizations including the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC), Sokoine University of Agriculture, the University of Dar es Salaam and the Kigoma District Council. During the three and a half years of funding from RNE, JGI facilitated the establishment of a community-based forest conservation organization (JUWAMMA) to manage benefit-sharing with the communities and take responsibility for the initiative in the long run.

JUWAMMA meets and collaborates with village leaders and the district council and has responsibility for implementing forest management plans, organizing forest patrols and distributing any REDD+ revenues earned from carbon markets or a national forest carbon fund. While the creation of a functional community based organization (CBO) is one of the initiative’s main achievements, technical support from JGI and other professionals will be required for JUWAMMA to meet all of the technical requirements of REDD+ including MRV, certification and marketing of carbon credits. The proponent has not yet finalized a PDD, and its claim on carbon credits from the Massito forests remains unclear as the joint forest management (JFM) arrangement between the villages and the government is still being developed.

JGI’s plan for long-term funding was to generate income from the sale of carbon credits in the voluntary market after certification by VCS and/or CCBA. However, certification and sale of carbon credits were not completed due to lack of funds to finalize the remaining activities and because of the expectation that a national REDD+ basket fund would make that unnecessary (see Box 2-4).

12.1.3 Motivation

JGI has worked since 1960 to conserve the Greater Gombe ecosystem through its research center. While deforestation of the Masito Ugalla forest has not been as severe as that in the area around Gombe National Park, JGI recognized increasing threats from a growing population and expanding road infrastructure. Thus, JGI launched the MUE project in 2007 in a large area of western Tanzania that includes portions of both Uvinza and Nsimbo districts, with a range of activities including environmental education, land-use planning, sustainable forest use and protection of biodiversity. In particular, JGI sought to improve the management of ‘general lands’ that officially belong to the central government but are not effectively managed by anyone. Their approach was to develop PFM systems with nearby communities.

The REDD+ initiative that was launched in 2009 continued previous efforts in seven participating villages with a new source of funding and requirements for carbon accounting. While JGI did not have the capacity to fulfill the requirements of REDD+, it organized a consortium with this capacity, e.g. with WHRC contributing expertise in MRV.

JGI considered the primary threats to forest in the participating villages to be their high population growth rate, low income and reliance on natural resources such as timber, fuelwood and land for agriculture. Fuelwood is used for curing salt (in Masito) and making charcoal (in both Masito and Ugalla areas). JGI foresees potential new threats to the forest from outside actors, e.g. large investors in agricultural land.

12.1.4 Timeline

JGI began disseminating information and carrying out the FPIC process at the beginning of 2010. In May 2010, JGI hired staff to begin implementing activities, including efforts to clarify tenure and develop forest management plans in the participating villages. In 2011, the CBO was established, and in 2012, they tested REDD+ benefit-sharing plans by allocating funds to village development projects. The original three and a half-year period (January 2010–June 2013) funded by RNE came to a close in mid-2013 and efforts to obtain additional funds to finalize activities were unsuccessful. Figure 12.2 summarizes the key events of the initiative.

12.2 Strategy for the initiative

The initiative sought to both reduce deforestation and forest degradation and to restore, rehabilitate or enhance carbon stocks in existing forests. JGI chose to pursue this work in Masito Forest because it is a biodiversity hot spot, containing rare and endemic species. Building on their previous efforts, JGI pursued a community-centered approach that engaged customary forest managers as partners through technical training in forest inventory, monitoring and management.

In the seven intervention villages in Uvinza district, the initiative formed a CBO responsible for forest management. The formation of the CBO was part of the JGI’s capacity building and sustainability strategy that aimed to generate an annual net income of USD 400,000 to the villages from sale of carbon offsets. This figure was based on an average carbon stock in intact forest of 170 tCO2e/ha and in land after conversion of 50 tCO2e/ha.3 The estimated annual deforestation rate between 2001 and 2007 was 1.7% (BAU scenario). The initiative estimated that the deforestation rate would be reduced to 0.86% after the first five years of REDD+ implementation and to 0.43% after another five years. Most of the revenues generated as a result of these reduced emissions would be shared at community level, through development projects proposed and managed by village governments.

In order to test this planned benefit-sharing mechanism, about USD 200,000 from RNE was paid to the seven villages as incentive funds. To be eligible for the incentive funds, a village had to: be a member of JUWAMMA; have active forest conservation efforts (usually implemented by forest monitors4 and the CBO); and have agreed to participate in all conservation activities, while demonstrating a good relationship between the village council and the villagers. The participating villages agreed upon benefit-sharing mechanisms, and JUWAMMA distributed the funds as agreed and to the agreed schedule, as approved by each village’s general assembly. Each village also identified projects to be implemented with the funding, as part of their conservation and development plans. JUWAMMA retained 10% of the funds to cover its administrative costs and the remainder was divided among the seven villages, with each receiving 7.8% to 19% of the total.

The village capacity to develop and implement these conservation and development plans was partly based on previous interventions under the Gombe Masito Ugalla initiative. This initiative had supported capacity building and training of communities, and development of land-use plans. In addition to aid from these NGOs, villages have also received aid from the government through infrastructure, education, health and agricultural services.

12.3 Smallholders in the initiative

The intervention area has a population of 69,410 that is growing at an annual rate of 4.8% – one of the highest population growth rates in Tanzania. There are a mixture of indigenous people (mainly Watongwe, Wabembe, Waha, Wagoma, Watulambo, Wafipa, Wanyamwez and Wamo) and refugees from neighboring countries (Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC and Rwanda). Table 12.1 characterizes the four intervention villages selected for CIFOR-GCS. Most people in these villages make their livelihoods from fishing or farming.

The villages in these regions have strong, active governments, including councils, chairmen and executive officers. Important matters in the village are decided by the village assembly in meetings held at least four times a year or as the need arises. Members of the village government are elected by the villagers. Under normal circumstances, these village governments hold power for five years before new elections are held. Women are well represented in the governments of the four study villages, although they report variable levels of influence (highest in KIGO3 and KIGO4). In meetings with the women, most reported that they participate in forest activities, rules and monitoring. While not all women opt to participate in village-level decision making, they are clearly important decision-makers about forest use and farming at the household level.

As shown in Table 12.2, most village households receive some income from forests; household members frequently go to the forest to collect fuelwood and other NTFPs. There is some variation, e.g. men in KIGO3 use the forest less often, perhaps because they can obtain comparable products from the nearer bushland. Both men and women rely on the forest more during the dry season when there are fewer farming activities. Respondents in two villages reported that timber had declined in importance, perhaps due to the conservation efforts of previous projects in the region.

When asked about the direction of change in forest cover during the two years prior to the interview, KIGO2 and KIGO4 villages said the net forest area had increased, while KIGO1 and KIGO3 villages said that it had decreased. However, most respondents indicated that forest quality had increased in the previous two years. Earlier conservation initiatives in the region may have contributed to these trends by helping to reduce the area under shifting cultivation and stabilizing the area under permanent cultivation in all of the villages except KIGO2.

The proportion of village households collecting fuelwood and other NTFPs was reported as 81%–100% in all the villages, while none said they collected timber. When asked about the direction of change for collecting other NTFPs and fuelwood in the two years prior to the survey, KIGO1 and KIGO2 villagers said it had decreased, and KIGO3 and KIGO4 villagers said it had stayed the same.

12.4 Challenges facing the initiative

The JGI REDD+ initiative operates in a uniquely large forest block5 (area of 900 km2) that protects a critical wildlife habitat, and is home to a large population of chimpanzees; it also protects important watersheds for Lake Tanganyika. The interventions have been implemented in this area in collaboration with the government, leveraging the skills of district officers to work alongside the initiative. JGI collaborated with WHRC to adopt their innovative carbon mapping methodology to Tanzania, and to Kigoma specifically. WHRC also conducted biomass mapping training for national REDD+ stakeholders. However, the initiative experienced challenges in fulfilling its aim to access the voluntary carbon market. One important limitation was the short project period (three and a half years only). JGI attempted to apply for another phase that would have provided some time to complete the process but it was not successful. Three and a half years was not long enough for project implementation, in view of REDD+ protocols and expected social changes. Thus, the short implementation period and insufficient funds to continue activities resulted in several incomplete activities and other REDD+ processes. As it stands, JGI has not finalized a PDD and villagers are not yet ready to sell carbon credits.

The move to establish JUWAMMA had been planned since the inception of the REDD+ initiative. JGI created the CBO because there was a need for a local organization to coordinate REDD+ activities on the ground on behalf of the villages. The CBO is entrusted to the local government authority (Uvinza District Council) that monitors CBO conduct and provides technical support when needed. Although the CBO has strengths, such as its ability to coordinate collective action at the local level, it also has limitations, such as lack of sufficient technical skills and financial resources to obtain certification for the carbon market without significant outside assistance.

To address its financial deficit, villages were facilitated by JGI to develop a forest management plan that allows wood resource extraction6 from Masito Forest in order to generate revenue to cover JUWAMMA’s operational costs. Villages deem that a resource extraction approach to fund procurement is necessary until such time that the initiative can rely on the sale of carbon credits. However, tenure control of Masito Forest has not yet been transferred from the government to the villages. Until this key tenure issue is resolved, villages cannot proceed with implementation of their plan to extract timber in Masito Forest, nor can they sell forest carbon credits.

The Government of Tanzania – the formal owner of Masito Forest – entrusts its management rights to Uvinza District Council. When the REDD+ initiative started, JGI requested the government to transfer its tenure rights over Masito Forest to the surrounding communities so that they could manage it under a PFM arrangement. This is because REDD+ presupposes that those anticipated to engage in carbon trade only qualify for compensation if they have secure tenure over the forests they manage. Although the initiative facilitated JUWAMMA in the process of acquiring formal tenure rights to the forests, the process has not yet moved forward. JUWAMMA did not fully acquire the rights because a JFM agreement must be established with the government. Additional discussions are taking place with the district council, JGI and other partners on setting up JFM with villages. Failure to achieve secure tenure rights for the communities to date has been a major obstacle to moving forward with plans for REDD+. A variety of issues highlight the other key challenges. Village respondents were concerned that the REDD+ initiative would block their access to agricultural land if shifting cultivation and opening up of new agricultural land was restricted. Revenues from REDD+ are uncertain, due largely to undefined and nonfunctional international agreements and national institutions, and thus the potential for local people to capture financial benefits from REDD+ depends on factors beyond their control. There is a risk that the REDD+ initiative could increase conflicts over land and resources, with unintended consequences.

12.5 Lessons from the initiative

The JGI initiative has an innovative benefit-sharing system. The proponent designed it with input from a survey conducted in all participating communities. The mechanism is similar to the system used by the district council to allocate funding to villages for development projects. It incorporates the district executive director in the payment process, thus ensuring buy-in and supervision by the district government – effectively integrating it into the national REDD+ benefit distribution system being planned by the national government. This approach saves time and resources by utilizing already existing and functioning structures.

There are other notable JGI approaches to laying the foundation for the initiative. It has used forest monitors in setting up an intervillage patrol group through CBO coordination that has proper equipment for patrolling and forest monitoring. The group is compensated through goods seized by the patrols and fees collected from natural resources products, and will eventually get a percentage of REDD+ revenue. Furthermore, the initiative has partnered with the Woods Hole Research Centre and Google Earth to conduct remote sensing analysis and forest monitoring using Google Android smartphones. This has potential to be replicated in other REDD+ initiatives and influence future conservation schemes.

The initiative provides an example of REDD+ under challenging conditions. It has high potential value for people, forest conservation and primate biodiversity, yet it faces major challenges. Although initially endowed with strong human, technical and financial resources, it needs to be a mentor and provide technical support for the CBO to ensure it can achieve its goals.

12.6 Acknowledgments

The CIFOR-GCS baseline research in this initiative was led by Susan Caplow. We would like to thank Nssoko Edwin, former REDD+ project director, and the other staff of JGI for patiently responding to our questions. We also appreciate the participation of people in the four study villages who attended our meetings and shared their perspectives on the initiative.