Sustain Eco: Hållbarhet & inkluderandestrategi för tillväxtkorridorer i Tanzania

This is part of a conclusion of performance for handover. As the intervention is at the end of its inception phase we don't have any results to report on yet. Here is instead a description of what has been done to date (mid-July 2024): The first year of implementation shows good results. Its a complex programme with many multisectoral results and involves many partners. From the two geographical landscapes some of the main results were: Sumbawanga landscape: •Additional baseline surveys and spring assessments conducted. •2023 and 2024 workplans developed •12 newly established Village Natural Resources Committees (VNRCs). •Training on environmental bylaws and natural resource management conducted. •Revitalizing Msaginya water user association, which was reregistered and capacitated after six years of inactivity. •Annual work plans for three river sub-catchments mainly, Katuma, Msaginya, and Mpanda developed. Kilombero landscape: •Three VLUPs has secured 19,831 hectares for sustainable land management. •A new WUA established in the Vidunda subcatchment, covering 15 villages. •A cocoa research farm at TARI a Centre of Excellence for cocoa research established. ' •31 newly established nurseries for natural and agroforestry trees in the Vidunda and Mngeta sub-catchments. •Community engagement to raise conservation awareness emphasized. •Training programmes on: Wildlife law enforcement, CyberTracker for ecological monitoring, and conservation laws, Entrepreneurship, and Agrochemical waste management. This programme has a multisectoral approach to emphasizing the need for sustainable ecosystem management and inclusive growth. The results are multisectoral, multilevel and contributes to many of Sweden's priorities including in the Tanzania strategy´s strategic pillars as well as to the reform agenda for cooperation. Some of results for specific themes area presented below. Private sector, market development, entrepreneurship national and local level: 1. National The Sustain Eco is working closely with the private sector. In the first year, on a national level, a MoU and signed agreement and a platform of private sector CEOs in manufacturing, financial sector and agricultural industries has been established to share knowledge and expertise in sustainable standards. There is also a planned MoU with SAGGOT (Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania) which is a Public Private Partnership initiated at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa (WEFA) Summit in Dar es Salaam in 2010. SAGGOT aims to boost agricultural productivity, improve food security, reduce poverty, and ensure environmental sustainability through the commercialization of smallholder agriculture. The MoU aims to influence and integrate NBS into IGG tools. On a local level as all households obtain income from farming (85%), so it is not surprising that farm related problems are the biggest that households face. The high price of agricultural inputs (84%), crop pests and disease (77%), and a lack of access to loans to purchase inputs (76%) are the most frequently mentioned problems. There has been a recognized gap in support for smallholder farmers, who face significant challenges in marketing their produce and accessing reliable markets and services. SUSTAIN Eco and Pro in are working towards developing mechanisms to support smallholder farmers, ensuring they have reliable markets, predictable pricing, and access to essential services. SUSTAIN Eco supported agroforestry and conservation enterprise development by connecting 203 cocoa farmers with research on sustainable practices and enabling the conversion of 101 farms into agroforestry farms. These actions are part of broader initiatives to integrate sustainable practices into local and regional governance frameworks. Moreover, SUSTAIN Eco made progress on entrepreneurial development, training 110 beneficiaries in entrepreneurship skills, business network creation, and financial management. One entrepreneur secured a 3,000,000 TZS (approximately 1,200 USD) loan for cocoa farming. These activities, built on the establishment of public private partnerships, lay the foundation for the sustainable financing initiatives which started in 2024. Restoration of Biodiversity and Ecosystem: The programme aims to strengthen the connection between biodiversity data, Nature based Solutions (NbS), and decision making processes. Its goal is to make a compelling case for investing in ecosystems and attract innovative financing to support their protection and restoration. In Kilombero landscape, SUSTAIN Eco strengthened e.g. biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management by delivering training to 50 Village Game Scouts (VGS) (41M, 9F varför den här fördelningen?) on using the CyberTracker software. But they change the software? This work has helped enhance the reliability of biodiversity data crucial for conservation management and inform regional and district strategies, which in turn contributes to coordination across various governance levels for effective natural resource management. Additionally, the projects efforts have led to the establishment of 31 nurseries, raising 221,010 seedlings for forest and landscape restoration in the Vidunda subcatchment. This work involved 614 community members and contributed to increased forest cover and ecosystem connectivity. An Environmental Day was also organized, engaging 650 participants, and using media coverage to elevate public conservation awareness Collaboration with TANAPA and TAWA around work related to biodiversity monitoring within protected areas as well as in wildlife human conflict, wildlife protection and restoration and management of rivers within national parks and game reserves. Gender equality and youth: In 2022, SUSTAIN Eco conducted a comprehensive gender and youth assessment that combined a detailed literature review with stakeholder consultations in both the SUSTAIN Pro and Eco landscapes. The assessment revealed significant gender disparities in access to and control over natural resources, decision making processes, and socioeconomic benefits, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to secure land tenure and increase the participation of women and youth in resource governance. The assessment also emphasized the prevalence of gender based violence and the critical lack of gender disaggregated data which hampers effective gender analysis. Recognizing the challenges posed by predominantly male leadership and land ownership patterns that disadvantage women in agricultural and conservation activities, training and community meetings have been adapted to be more accessible and relevant to women. Initiatives such as radio shows on land tenure and women's rights, and practical training sessions have been particularly effective. The ILUMA run and other community activities have also seen increased female participation due to these adjustments. Overall, SUSTAIN Ecos gender and youth initiatives in 2023 have reinforced the importance of targeted, culturally sensitive interventions to enhance gender equity and youth involvement in conservation and natural resource management.

The intervention goal is: Ecosystem stewardship leads to healthy ecosystems, biodiversity conservation and prosperous communities in Tanzania. There are three expected outcomes: Outcome 1: Coordination strengthened amongst governance structures for sustainable and inclusive management of natural resources. Outcome 2: Integrated landscape management improves ecosystem health and generates inclusive business and livelihood opportunities, especially for women, youth and vulnerable groups. Outcome 3: Investment in the protection and restoration of ecosystems and their services strengthens climate resilience for people and ecosystems. Sustain Ecos goal has three principal components: - Ecosystem stewardship For growth to be possible in the long run, the services necessary for human well-being and thriving economies need to be secured and the ecosystems which underpin these services protected and enhanced. Ecosystem stewardship is engaging stakeholders to ensure that ecological systems are able to cope with shocks and stresses as well as to sustain the transformations needed to adapt to climate change whilst striving for social prosperity and growth at scale. - Equitability Local communities are key to ensuring pathways for growth that are sustainable and inclusive. Equitability encompasses community resilience to climate change, social inclusion as well as sustained and sustainable economic growth for local communities, considering poverty in all its dimensions and focusing on leaving no one behind. Equitability also encompasses striving for gender balance and equity in public and private institutions responsible for land and water planning and management. - Balanced sustainability and growth at scale to break the vicious cycle of poverty and ecosystem loss inherent in current economic models, a stark departure from business-as-usual is necessary. For this to be possible, environmental and social considerations must be embedded into businesses and sectors with the highest green growth potential and coupled with replication and scale up of sustainable business models (especially low-emission alternatives). The desired changes are that: Local communities, especially vulnerable women and youth, and smallholder farmers have improved access to knowledge, finance and capacity, being therefore able to derive sustained and sustainable incomes; Businesses in selected sectors integrate ecosystem values and strengthen social inclusion in their operations and value chains; Institutional structures and governance systems have improved coordination and integration enabling sustainable and inclusive management of natural resources; Innovative financing streams recognise the value of Nature-based Solutions for balancing growth with ecosystem resilience and social inclusion, encouraging their uptake; Critically important ecosystems are protected, conserved, and restored thereby retaining the services necessary for economic growth and social prosperity, and the protection of biodiversity including land health (e.g. soils and soil structure, groundwater). The impact will be measured using indicators that are suggested in the project proposal but where the list may be adjusted during the first three months of the project when baselines will also be established. The indicators (see a full list in the logical framework in annex 1 of the proposal) include: - reduction of the total area (ha) and percentage of ecosystems in the landscape that are degraded - reduction of forest loss/rate of deforestation - status of soil and water - changes in household income, data gender disaggregated - diversification of livelihood opportunities - reduction in land and natural resource related conflicts - proportion of land under integrated and inclusive governance and management - total area (ha) and percentage of the landscape with formalized land tenure rights - number and type of integrated local governance structures for natural resources - number of natural resources governance structures for natural resources established and implemented with Sustain Eco support - number of women in leadership roles in natural resource governance mechanisms - individuals supported to obtain Community Custsomary Rights of Occupancy (CCROs) by gender - number of village land use plans that integrate biodiveristy considerations developed and implementation facilited - number of water catchment management plans established/strengthened - number of farmers who have received training and support through farmer field schools and extension services to improve cliamte smart agriculture practices and technologies - number or percentage of local artisans and small businesses using inclusive cook stove technologies - number of businesses and cooperatives supported to implement, monitor and report on Inclusive Green Growth (IGG) principles and best practices - number of farmers engaged in implementing improved agrochemical waste mangement practices - number of banking sector actors and financial institutions engaged in adopting the Tanzania Sustainable Finance Principles - area (ha) and percentage of land in targeted landscape restoration - volume of investment leveraged for forest and landscape restoration, biodiversity conservation and low carbon projects - number of Village Nature Reserve Committees (VNRC) conducting participatory biodiversity monitoring (the Embassy assesses the involvement of local people in such activities key. Offering alternatives to allow people to conserve is also of utmost importance) - number and type of prevention and mitigation measures to address bushfires implemented - number of nurseries and woodlots established - number of communities where members have been supported to engage in communal agroforestry systems and practices - number of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) schemes established and modelled for water use In other words a wide range of results/impacts are expected. It is also likely that people in the landscapes and officials will get hands-on experience of the benefits of democratic governance, transparency and accountability. The ability of the partnership to deliver changes as described in the proposal was confirmed during the Embassy's visit to Sustain 1 in December 2020 where the Embassy could see examples in the Sumbawanga landscape of how consultations between different landusers and local officials in combination with minor infrastructure improvement had resulted in efficient and sustainable use of water that satisfies needs of users both upsteam and downstream without having a negative impact on the environment. During the same visit the Embassy saw examples of how local landuse planning reduced pressure on natural resources and led to conservation of areas of concern from an environmental perspective. Women in the field also explained how they had benefitted from a gender perspective and suggested that one way forward on gender equity would be to raise this topic and seek more interaction with older officials, who based on their experience, are more understanding and receptive.