Scenarios of land use and land cover change and their multiple impacts on natural capital in Tanzania

Claudia Capitani, Arnout van Soesbergen, Kusaga Mukama, Isaac Malugu, Boniface Mbilinyi, Nurdin Chamuya, Bas Kempen, Rogers Malimbwi, Rebecca Mant, Pantaleo Munishi, Marco Njana, Antonia Ortmann, Philip John Platts, Lisen Runsten, Marieke Sassen, Philippina Sayo, Deo Shirima, Elikamu Zahabu, Neil Burgess, Robert Marchant

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation, and forest degradation, plus the
conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks, in developing countries) requires information on land use and land cover changes (LULCC) and carbon emissions trends from the past to the present and into the future. Here we use the results of participatory scenario development in Tanzania, to assess the potential interacting impacts on carbon stock, biodiversity and water yield of alternative scenarios where REDD+ is effectively implemented or not by 2025, the green economy (GE) and the business as usual (BAU) respectively. Under the BAU scenario, land use and land cover changes causes 296 MtC national stock loss by 2025, reduces the extent of suitable habitats for endemic and rare species, mainly in encroached protected mountain forests, and produce changes of water yields. In the GE scenario, national stock loss decreases to 133 MtC. In this scenario, consistent LULCC impacts occur within small forest patches with high carbon density, water catchment capacity and biodiversity richness. Opportunities for maximising carbon emissions reductions nationally are largely related to sustainable woodland management but also contain trade-offs with biodiversity conservation and changes in water availability.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17-24
Number of pages8
JournalEnvironmental conservation
Volume46
Issue number1
Early online date18 Sept 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2019

Bibliographical note

© Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2018. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

Keywords

  • REDD+
  • biodiversity
  • carbon
  • decision-making
  • ecosystem services trade-offs
  • participatory GIS
  • water

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