ABSTRACT
Community participation in international carbon payment systems such as REDD+ could potentially provide a source of income for poor and marginalized people in forest areas, and contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In Tanzania, these goals are encapsulated in the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP), which envisaged reducing rural poverty (defined as an income of less than US$1 per day per head) by 50 per cent, compared to baseline 1990, by 2010, although the global goal was to reach this level of reduction by 2015. A second relevant MDG as regards REDD+ is that of environmental sustainability, and particularly the first two targets in this regard: the integration of principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes, including reversal of loss of environmental resources; and reduction of biodiversity loss.
