Carbon Tanzania answers questions on Verra’s VM0048 methodology
August 21, 2024
© carbon tanzania 2024
Image credits: Carbon Tanzania/Roshni Lodhia/Paul Joyson-Hicks.
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As I sit here, perched on the top of a rocky outcrop, looking over seemingly endless rolling hills of Miombo woodland east of Mahale National Park in western Tanzania, its quite easy to feel as if the nearest human settlement is many miles away. But it’s not long before the distinct thud of an axe on hardwood wakes you up to the fact that those first small steps of deforestation are well under way.
The Carbon Tanzania team are here in the Greater Mahale ecosystem looking at the potential for developing a new REDD+ project, but why here? Mahale Mountains National Park covers an area of 1613 km2 and lies on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika approximately half way down its length, some 120 kms south of the main Tanzanian port of Kigoma. The park was gazetted by the Tanzanian Government in 1985 primarily to protect a large population of the Eastern Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthi) that exists throughout the forest which borders the lake shore on the western flank of the Mahale Mountains. But these charismatic primates also occur throughout the Miombo woodlands to the east and south of the mountains, and that’s where we come in.
Along with our partners, The Nature Conservancy, who have been working in the area for the last 5 years, we are embarking on an ambitious program to complete a series of Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFR) that border the newly gazetted Tongwe West Forest Reserve. So why here? Firstly it’s to protect the largest known intact range of Eastern Chimpanzee in the world, and if you know anything about Carbon Tanzania, you also realize that the way we do this is by ensuring that we focus on people.
Satellite analysis shows us that deforestation in the area has been increasing over the last 10 years, driven, as is the case in many parts of Tanzania, by economic migrants looking for land. It is in these situations that REDD+ can be an effective tool, and by utilizing strategic partnerships our aim is to create a series of community protected areas, VLFRs, that not only ensure that these communities own their land, but also that they are able to earn revenue from deciding to protect it. As we know, land security and economic opportunities are the key to ensuring the future of Africa’s wildlife, and in the case of our closest relative, it’s no different.
Written by Carbon Tanzania Co-Founder Marc Baker
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© carbon tanzania 2024
Image credits: Carbon Tanzania/Roshni Lodhia/Paul Joyson-Hicks.
Director of Operations
David is a dedicated conservationist with both an excellent academic record and extensive field experience in designing and implementing practical conservation and agricultural project work. At Carbon Tanzania, he oversees the highly technical aspects of project operations, while also using his interpersonal and language skills to communicate the many and complex details of our projects to our partner communities and field collaborators.
Director of Finance
Alpha is a Certified Public Accountant with a degree in accountancy and finance. Alpha is responsible for overseeing all the finance and accounting systems both within the company and across our projects. Alpha’s work with the communities also ensures that they are able to plan the financial management and implement best practices in the allocation of the revenues from their successful natural resource protection activities.
Co-founder
Marc oversees project operations, often in the field as well as from the Arusha base, and leads the search to find and develop new areas where our approach can deliver lasting results. As a co-founder of Carbon Tanzania, maintaining a connection with the landscapes in which Carbon Tanzania works is critical to Marc.
Co-founder
After an established career as one of East Africa’s leading professional outdoor, trekking and wildlife guides, Jo co-founded Carbon Tanzania. Jo’s focus is to ensure business sustainability through financial management and sales, and to ensure that the company has the financial capacity to scale when opportunities arise.