The role of forest and wildlife conservation policies on implementation of REDD+ initiatives in Tanzania

Abstract

Climate change is the greatest global challenge of our time. It is posing challenges to sustainable livelihoods and economic development, particularly in developing countries like Tanzania. One of the mitigation measures to address climate change impacts is to implement Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) policy. The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) is currently voluntarily implementing REDD+. REDD+ implementation in the country is supported by a number of policies including conservation policies namely the National Forest Policy of 1998 and Wildlife Policy of Tanzania of 2007. These policies support implementation of REDD+ though a number of initiatives. This paper shows that the while National Forest Policy supports REDD+ through Participatory Forest Management (PFM) and trust funds, the Wildlife Policy of Tanzania supports REDD+ through Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs