Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a Mechanism for Forest Conservation in Tanzania

TLDR

• As Tanzania implements Vision 2050 and advances its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, financing Nature-based Solutions should become a national development priority.
• One promising mechanism is Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), where downstream beneficiaries compensate upstream communities for protecting forests and water sources.
• Through PES arrangements, these beneficiaries can contribute financially to conservation efforts while securing reliable ecosystem services that underpin their own operations.
• Forests and watersheds are among Tanzania’s most valuable natural assets.
• Yet these ecosystems continue to face mounting pressure from deforestation, unsustainable farming practices, illegal logging, charcoal production, mining and rapid urbanisation.