Carbon Tanzania pauses Yaeda-Eyasi project as global credit standards shift, stakeholders demand regulatory reform

Carbon Tanzania has temporarily halted its Yaeda-Eyasi Landscape Project, a REDD+ initiative protecting 108,000 hectares of dryland forest in northern Tanzania. The company cites a sharp decline in funding as buyers increasingly prefer credits certified under the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market's Core Carbon Principles (CCP), which require costly upgrades and face a prohibitive domestic regulatory framework. The project supports about 63,000 people across 11 villages, and the suspension threatens community revenue from forest stewardship. Stakeholders, including Carbon Tanzania CEO Sally Capper, are calling for reforms to Tanzania's carbon trading regulations to make high-quality projects viable. The country lacks national datasets needed for CCP methodologies, and compliance costs are unsustainable. A 2024 Uongozi Institute report also recommends stronger institutional frameworks and benchmarking against regional markets. Without regulatory changes, community-based carbon projects across Tanzania may face similar disruptions.