Tanzania Prepares Sustainable Forestry and e-Bus Rapid Transit Projects for Financing

In preparation to seek seed funding from the NAMA facility, Tanzania held two 2-day workshops, to finalize the NAMA Facility applications for the Sustainable Forestry and BRT transport sectors. The workshops, which were held in Zanzibar (February 26-28) and Morogoro (March 1-2), were critical to fill last minute data gaps, clarify institutional arrangements, budgets, and co-finance. The event also provided the space for all stakeholders to brainstorm on ideas and reach consensus on key issues. Both NAMAs were developed under the Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) program with the generous support from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System for 5 Urban Centers  

Tanzania's BRT NAMA builds on the successful Dar es Salaam BRT system known as DART (Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit), which is currently being implemented The DART system, which is expected to be fully operational by 2030, launched its first phase in 2016 and is up and running although not yet complete.

DART has won the 2018 Sustainable Transport Award for its best practice design and has gained international prestige and momentum within the transport sector. The DART system currently spans 21 kilometres of trunk route, and serves 160,000 passengers per day on average with a fleet of 140 buses. As a result, DART has reduced commute times by more than half for Dar es Salaam residents and is already proving to be transformational for Dar es Salaam, both socially and economically.

The BRT NAMA designed expands the DART system and rolls out BRT in five urban centers, including in Arusha, Dodoma, Mbeya, Mwanza and Tanga. The NAMA provides policy instruments and supporting measures (results-based finance) to mobilize BRT-related activities in major growing cities with 0.2 to 1 million populations that are experiencing debilitating traffic congestion. This project would also be useful to other countries considering setting up sustainble transport initatives.

Sustainable Forest Management NAMA

The agriculture, forestry and other land uses (AFOLU) contributes 57% of Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Zanzibar. The project will address the deforestation and degradation of natural ecosystems in Zanzibar through a combination of Participatory Forest Management (PFM) and performance-based payments. Building on Tanzania's long and relatively successful experience with PFM in Zanzibar (starting in the 1990s), the project will introduce key features to align the existing PFM framework to the climate change policy objectives of Zanzibar. PFM policies and regulations in Tanzania are some of the most advanced in Africa and has been effective at allowing for the devolution of ownership and management responsibilities to local communities.

Specifically, the project will introduce reforms to the Community Forest Management Agreements (CoFMAs) regulatory framework, incorporate provisions on carbon accounting, and improve the monitoring and enforcement of agreements through the expanded use of information and spatial technologies. The project will also promote the adoption of improved cook stoves (ICS) to reduce fire-wood usage, and advance the adoption of a financial mechanism to provide performance-based payments to communities. 

Overall, the project will aim at enrolling 60,000 rural households (300,000 individuals) in 74 CoFMAs, covering 54% of the forest and agricultural areas in Zanzibar. Income of participating households may improve as a result from the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), agroforestry and farm forestry practices and alternative livelihoods projects.

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