Morogoro. Kilosa District is set to earn Sh1.17 billion as a dividend after preserving forests that facilitated the harvesting of 545,433 cubic tons of carbon in its village forests from 2023 to February 2024.
According to the Ministry of Union and Environment, Tanzania aims to generate USD 1 billion (approximately Sh2.4 trillion) annually from carbon trading.
In its March 2024 parliamentary speech, the ministry stated that 24 carbon trading projects had been registered and were at various stages of implementation. As of March 2024, a total of USD 12.63 million (Sh32 billion) had been paid to local government authorities in the country as dividends from carbon trading.
Kilosa District is among the benefiting areas, and its district council and villages have started reaping the rewards. Kilosa District Commissioner Shaka Hamdu Shaka has urged residents to engage in carbon trading, emphasizing that it presents a strategic economic opportunity at the village and council levels.
“I strongly believe that you will work towards transforming the conservation and protection of our natural resources to yield visible benefits. However, we must acknowledge existing challenges, such as conflicts between villages and encroachment by some village natural resource committees into other villages,” he said.
Shaka noted that the success resulted from environmental conservation efforts in village forests, with Malolo, Msiba, and Mhenda villages performing exceptionally well between 2023 and February 2024.
“We have the potential to reduce poverty through this carbon trading business, and we can also position our district council as a model through the revenue generated from this trade as investments continue to expand,” he explained.
However, he warned against illegal land clearing and unregulated farming, stressing that strict legal actions would be taken against violators. “Villages, in collaboration with the district council, should revise local forest management by-laws to impose stricter penalties on anyone involved in indiscriminate tree cutting and forest destruction,” Shaka stated.
Carbon Trading Coordination
The National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC), based in Morogoro, is responsible for coordinating carbon trading in Tanzania. The business involves multiple registration processes, including identifying eligible projects, assessing their environmental impact and carbon reduction capacity, and verifying compliance with international standards and regulations.
Once registered and implemented, these projects contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also providing profitable investment opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office (Union and Environment), Hamad Masauni, emphasized that NCMC would play a crucial role in supporting the country’s carbon trading initiatives.
During his visit to the center in Morogoro, he noted that the increasing number of foreign investments in carbon trading would significantly boost citizens’ incomes and contribute to the national economy.
Echoing this sentiment, Kilosa District Commissioner Shaka, who represented the Morogoro Regional Commissioner during the visit, stated that the region was well-prepared to utilize this opportunity effectively.
He affirmed that Morogoro, with its abundant forests, livestock, and rivers, was committed to ensuring that carbon trading benefits citizens and drives national development.
“The presence of this center in our region is a crucial step. We must ensure that all available resources, including forests, livestock, and rivers, are properly utilized so that this opportunity yields tangible benefits for both citizens and the nation at large,” Shaka said.