The context of REDD+ in Tanzania: Drivers, agents and institutions

Abstract

Notwithstanding the lack of reliable and up-todate countrywide information, the total forest cover of Ethiopia including smallholder/private and state plantations is estimated to be around 13 million ha covering some 11.4% of the total land area of the country (FAO 2010). The major forest types identified in the country include: moist montane forests; dry evergreen montane forests; Acacia-Commiphora woodlands; lowland semievergreen tropical forests; combretum-Terminalia woodlands and bamboo thickets. In terms of climate change mitigation potential, scientific evidence, as thoroughly reviewed by Moges et al. (2010), indicates that Ethiopia has the potential to mitigate the release of 2.76 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere if it protects and sustainably manages its forest resources. Despite this substantial potential, the long-standing trend is severe deforestation and degradation (Teketay 2001; Dessie and Christiansson 2008) driven by activities that are closely linked to the country's political, economic and institutional contexts in the recent past. The major direct drivers of the deforestation and degradation process are: forest clearance and land-use conversion for smallholder agricultural expansion; promotion of large-scale commercial and state development investments in forest frontiers; illegal extraction and collection of forest products (mainly fuelwood collection and charcoal making); government-led human settlement in forest areas; forest fires; and increasing development of infrastructure and road networks in forest proximities. The dominant actors behind these direct drivers include smallholder farmers and pastoralists; foreign private investors; state-owned enterprises and government ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture and investment agencies, among others. In the context of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) Programme, these direct drivers may pose significant challenges to achieving effective emission reductions from reducing deforestation and degradation. In light of these direct drivers, the challenge for REDD+ appears to emerge from the fact that most of the activities causing the deforestation and degradation are closely associated with the country's political economy and broader development strategies. Historically, agriculture has been the main stay of Ethiopia's economy accounting for 46% of the national gross domestic product and 85% of total employment in 2012. For this reason, the current government adopted the Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) as the country's main development strategy in 1994. As a result, a number of subsidiary policies, strategies and programs were introduced to promote the expansion, commercialization and export orientation of the agriculture sector. Complementing the ADLI strategy, the government developed the Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to Eradicate Poverty in 2006 and the ambitious Growth and Transformation Plan in 2011. The latter aims to transform the country's economy to a middle-income level by 2025 through pursuing fast and broad-based development programs. The major strategy to achieve this goal is to attract direct foreign investment in large-scale commercial agriculture through allocation of extensive lands (mostly in forest areas) and provisioning of tax incentives to private investors. However, these economic-development policies and the approach in which they are being implemented are also bearing significant costs to the country's land and forest resources. On the other hand, the deforestation process in Ethiopia is also driven by various underlying causes including: chronic poverty and the inherent dependence of the vast majority of rural poor on natural resources; rapid population growth; extensive legal and institutional gaps including the lack of stable and equitable forest tenure and property right arrangements, lack of a clear and standard definition and classification of forests, and weak forest governance and law enforcement capacities; lack of pragmatic stakeholder participation and benefitsharing schemes; and lack of effective cross-sectoral coordination and vertical integration between line ministries and executive bodies within each ministry. These shortfalls can significantly undermine both the effectiveness and equitability of REDD+ actions. Amidst the enormous pressure on Ethiopia's forests from these drivers and actors, encouraging policy measures and practical undertakings are being made by the Ethiopian government to harness deforestation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Evidently, the country has adopted the Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, which aims to build sustainable economic development through substantial CO2 emission reductions in major economic sectors. The forestry sector is identified as one of the four fast-track implementation pillars responsible for achieving 50% of the national abatement potential. In view of this, the government has fully embraced REDD+ as an integral part of the national CRGE strategy. Another important milestone by the government is its issuance of the country's first forest policy and proclamation in 2007, with a set of incentives encouraging private sector and community participation in forestry activities. The country also established its first Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2013, instituting the national REDD+ Secretariat under the new ministry. Ethiopia is also undertaking several multi-sectoral programs in its nationally appropriate mitigation actions including afforestation and reforestation programs, degraded lands rehabilitation and watershed management projects, among others, to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. The REDD+ policy process in Ethiopia is thus evolving in a context that it is firmly embedded in the country's development strategy and in an increasingly enabling political environment, especially at higher levels. In effect, the national REDD+ Secretariat is undertaking various activities to pave the way for the development and implementation of REDD+ policies and programs in Ethiopia. The country has completed the first phase of its Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) development and is currently working on phase II of the R-PP, which endeavors to develop and consolidate the country's capacity and readiness in terms of REDD+ monitoring, reporting and verification, REDD+ financing, benefit-sharing schemes, and institutional, legal and policy options. National consultation processes and multi-stakeholder forums at various levels have been carried out and national REDD+ management structures are also under-development, among others. Overall, recent policy developments and emerging undertakings by the Ethiopian government signify the building of considerable government commitment to REDD+ implementation and carbon emission reductions in Ethiopia. In light of the country's ambitious plan for building a climateresilient green economy, the adoption of REDD+ will also likely reinforce the government's interest in embracing the new financial opportunities that REDD+ may generate. In sum, analysis of Ethiopia's context for REDD+ policy development and implementation demonstrates the presence of a promising environment for REED+ in many aspects, yet confronted with serious practical challenges and constraints that need to be addressed. Achieving lasting results with the implementation of efficient, effective and equitable REDD+ in Ethiopia requires overcoming these challenges through enforcing appropriate policy options and targeted actions. The first milestone activity to ensure REDD+ effectiveness is reconciling the apparently contradictory policies and programs – notably policies for agricultural expansion, commercialization and large-scale investment versus initiatives for natural resources development and environmental safeguarding. The counterproductive impacts of large-scale commercial investments, infrastructure and road network developments in forest frontiers can be addressed though developing a broader land-use plan and set of legal frameworks that effectively align these programs with the country's forest conservation and development goals. Equally important are improving forest governance and law enforcement capacities, clarifying and reforming forest tenure and property right arrangements, formulating equitable benefit sharing and participation mechanisms, enhancing institutional capacity and national competence for REDD+ implementation, and establishing strong cross-sectoral coordination and vertical integration of ministries and agencies involved in the deforestation reduction and forest development agenda.