REDD – Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation – is a new form of payment for environmental services that has to potential to fund forest protection in Tanzania.
A key challenges for implementing REDD is that payments may be made to groups and therefore not create appropriate forest use incentives for individuals. In Tanzania, REDD is being piloted in 31 forests by the NGO Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) and the first payments to REDD villages will be made in the next few months. Each of these villages will choose independently whether the REDD payment goes to a community project or to individuals in the village.
The objective of our research project is to determine the drivers of whether the allocation is at the community or individual level and how this choice affects forest management and so will provide a foundation for future research to link REDD payment mechanisms to carbon storage outcomes. The project will be implemented in close collaboration with TFCG in the 31 villages where REDD pilots have been introduced in Tanzania. Possible outcomes include analysis of the REDD pilot projects that would not otherwise be done that will inform implementation of REDD in Tanzania and other African countries at a broader scale.
