%0 Journal Article
%T The Cost of Managing Forest Carbon under REDD+ Initiatives: A Case of Kolo Hills Forests in Kondoa District, Dodoma, Tanzania
%A Kabura John
%A Dos Santos A. Silayo
%A Arild Vatn
%J International Journal of Forestry Research
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/920964
%X Countries considering participating in a REDD+ mechanism need information on what it would cost them to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This study was conducted to estimate the cost of managing forest carbon under REDD+ initiatives in Kolo Hills Forest, Kondoa, Tanzania. Socioeconomic and biophysical information was collected through structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and forest inventory, respectively. Results show that the community participated in managing the forest by undertaking a range of activities such as tree planting, patrolling, and fire protection. The estimated total cost was USD 418,349.38 while the average cost was USD 79.06/ha. The average carbon stored was 19.75£¿tC£¿ha£¿1, which is equivalent to 72.48£¿tCO2£¿ha£¿1. Costs incurred by managing the forest in relation to tCO2 stored were USD 1.0485£¿tCO2£¿e£¿1ha£¿1. The project was found to be economically feasible at 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% discount rates with NPVs of USD 107,102,331.83, USD 33,986,255.86, USD 10,312,945, and USD 1,245,905.11, respectively. The internal rate of return was 21.21% which is much higher than the World Bank rate of 15.8% and the Tanzania rate of 14.8%. We therefore conclude that the decision to undertake this REDD+ project was worthwhile and should be favoured against the ¡°do nothing¡± alternative. 1. Introduction Forests are the largest terrestrial reservoir for atmospheric carbon dioxide [1]. Tropical forests, for example, were estimated to store more than 320 billion£¿tons of carbon [2]. Tanzania has about 33.4 million hectares of forests and woodlands [3]. Out of this total area, almost two thirds consist of woodlands on unreserved land, which lack proper management [4]. A forest resource on the unreserved land is under enormous pressure, from expansion of agricultural activities, livestock grazing, fires, and other human activities. About 13 million hectares of the total forest areas in Tanzania have been gazetted as forest reserves of which 1.6 million ha is under natural forests for water catchment and 80,000£¿ha are under industrial forest plantation [4]. In the tropical region where also Tanzania lies, deforestation and forest degradation have been occurring on a large scale, playing a critical role in the carbon cycle, with implications for climate and biological diversity [5]. Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to nonforest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area, or wasteland [6]. Deforestation can result from deliberate removal of forest cover for agriculture or urban development, or it
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfr/2014/920964/