Reforestation in Grassland of Uchindile, Kilombero, Tanzania & Mapanda, Mufindi, Tanzania

Summary

The project covers two locations (Uchindile and Mapanda) and aims at reforesting 10,814 hectares of degraded land located in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania and conserve 7,565 hectares to protect local biodiversity. The project was the first in the world to receive validation by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), in 2009. Green Resources Ltd submitted the project for validation in 2007, as soon as the VCS guidelines for agriculture, forestry and land use (AFOLU) were released. The project aims to generate Voluntary Emissions Reductions (VERs) over 99 years, with a reserve buffer of 40%.

The project involves planting trees on grassland areas to contribute to the supply of high quality wood products and transmission poles both in the region and internationally. The project will also contribute to sustainable development by providing socio-economic benefits to local communities and training in environmental management and conservation of biodiversity and forest resources. The major purposes of the project activity are to: enhance forest and carbon stocks through reforestation and forest conservation; provide high quality wood products through reforestation activities which will help the Ministry of Natural Resources meet growing demands; support environmental conservation and preservation of ecosystem services through protection of forest resources and through enrichment planting with indigenous tree species; facilitate socio-economic development by promoting tree planting/reforestation activities and provide employment opportunities and additional income generation from selling carbon credits.

The project developer and implementer is Green Resources Ltd who started the project in 1997. The project was certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)'s standard for the sustainable management of forests in 2008.

The Uchindile and Mapanda Forest Projects applied an approved Clean Development Mechanism methodology for afforestation/reforestation (A/R) under the A/R category of the VCS, rather than a REDD+ methodology. The project also applied for validation under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCB) to ensure that the project also provides support to local communities and promotes biodiversity. It was first approved under the CCB Standards First Edition Silver Level in October 2009 and was then validated and verified again under the CCB Standards Second Edition in June 2013.