REDD+ piloting in Tanzania: The village as an arena for defining and defending local and national interests

Tanzania is among countries earmarkedfor piloting REDD+ activities in order toinform the global community throughlessons learned for sustainableimplementation of this programme. Thisstudy was carried out to assess the REDD+piloting process in Tanzania with referenceto the village as an arena for defining anddefending local and national interests.Social interface approach was used fordata collection. The study revealedambiguity in forest tenure security as amajor constraint in the implementation ofREDD+. Among the actors in the process,NGOs were found to serve as powerbrokers between state agencies and localcommunities. The governance structures atvillage level play a key role in regulatingforest use and implementation of anyproject. Since communities have a highertrust on their village governments, thevillages remain core area for protectinginterests of REDD+ and conservationinitiatives in the country. Similarly, clearand secure land tenure and forest userrights are critical ingredients for thesuccess of REDD+ initiatives