By Our Correspondent, Kigali
Tanzania has established a legal framework for sharing revenue from carbon trading, seeking to ensure that communities protecting forests and other natural resources receive a fair share of the financial benefits generated by climate change mitigation projects.
Under the revenue-sharing arrangement for forestry projects, resource owners receive 61 per cent of proceeds, project developers 31 per cent and the government eight per cent, according to the Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Union Affairs and Environment), Engineer Hamad Yussuf Masauni.
Speaking at a ministerial and technical leaders’ meeting held on the sidelines of the Africa Carbon Markets Summit 2026, which concluded in Kigali on 15 October, Masauni said a clear framework for distributing carbon revenues was essential to transparency and accountability in the growing market.
The arrangement is intended to reduce disputes over revenue allocation among investors, the government and communities participating in carbon projects, while strengthening confidence in initiatives that link environmental protection with economic opportunities.
For communities involved in forest conservation, carbon markets can create an additional source of income by placing a financial value on activities that protect or enhance the ability of natural ecosystems to absorb and store carbon dioxide. However, the benefits depend on credible project design, transparent financial management and effective safeguards for the rights of local people.
Masauni said carbon trading formed part of Tanzania’s efforts to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement, including its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 to 35 per cent by 2030.
He stressed that strong legislation, clearly defined institutional responsibilities, digital management systems and equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms were necessary to ensure that carbon projects delivered measurable benefits to communities while contributing to environmental conservation.
“Tanzania is ready to cooperate with investors and other African and international partners in developing high-integrity, high-quality carbon projects to ensure that carbon trading benefits citizens and contributes to efforts to address climate change,” he said.
Tanzania seeks stronger position in African carbon markets
The minister also called for greater cooperation among African countries to develop a coordinated carbon market framework that protects the continent’s interests and ensures that the financial benefits reach local populations.
“We want to see carbon markets working for the benefit of our people, while cooperating with our African brothers and sisters to build a common framework that protects the interests of our continent,” Masauni said.
His remarks come as African countries seek to attract climate finance while ensuring that the economic value generated from their natural resources translates into domestic development and stronger environmental protection.
PHOTOS BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
Carbon markets allow businesses and other organisations to purchase credits representing verified reductions or removals of greenhouse gas emissions. When properly regulated, these markets can channel investment into forest conservation, ecosystem restoration and other climate-related activities. Their credibility, however, depends on the quality of the credits, reliable monitoring and transparent accounting.
Tanzania has also taken steps to participate in international carbon markets under the Paris Agreement.
Masauni said that in August 2026, the country signed four letters of authorisation for carbon credits eligible for use outside Tanzania, following assessments by the National Carbon Project Assessment Committee.
Such authorisations can enable carbon credits to be used towards climate commitments or other permitted purposes internationally, subject to applicable rules. They also make accurate accounting important to prevent the same emission reductions from being claimed more than once.
For Tanzania, the opportunity lies in attracting investment into credible climate projects while ensuring that the country and its communities retain a fair share of the resulting benefits.
The new revenue-sharing framework provides a basis for balancing the commercial interests of project developers with the rights of resource owners and the government’s environmental objectives. Its effectiveness will depend on consistent enforcement, transparent reporting and whether communities receive the revenues allocated to them. As carbon markets expand, Tanzania’s approach highlights a central question for climate finance in Africa: how to turn the protection of natural resources into a reliable source of funding for both local development and climate action.