The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania through its National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC) has launched the National Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) inventory system. The event was done at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) where NCMC is hosted. The event brought together delegates from Vice President’s Office (VPO), Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Zanzibar, UNDP, SUA and journalists.
In his opening speech the guest of honor, Ambassador Joseph Sokoine, expressed the importance of lowering GHGs emission levels of in order to protect the environment. He said, Tanzania is a member of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and hence has to adhere to agreements required for the reduction of GHGs.
He also commended UNDP on its efforts to make sure that the GHGs Inventory system is in place. The ambassador also directed the NCMC management team to coordinate and communicate all issues regarding GHGs in the country. He added that the system has come on the right time to store and communicate all information regarding GHGs to the Government and UNFCCC secretariat.
The Director of Forestry and Beekeeping Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Dr. Ezekiel Mwakalukwa, said the Ministry contributed significantly to the GHG Inventory through the National Forest Resources Monitoring and Assessment (NAFORMA) programme which provided the required data on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector. He pledged that the Ministry will continue to work with NCMC through the newly established GHG Inventory system.
Prof Eliakim Zahabu, who is the Director of NCMC, apart from thanking the guest of honor, he demonstrated the GHGs inventory system to the invited delegates. He showed various parts of the system such as the discussion forums, library, securities levels and other parts. When asked about the cost of the system development, he said UNDP provided support amounting to Tanzania Shillings two hundred millions (Tsh 200,000,000) for this purpose. Prof Zahabu also promised to work seriously on the directives provided by the ambassador.