TRI Tanzania collected baseline data in the areas of policy, development plans, and legal frameworks that impact SLR initiatives and evaluated the extent to which they supported SLR, including community and private sector participation in restoration. This process resulted in the identification of policy gaps and in generating key recommendations for enhancing regulatory enabling environment for SLR. The proposed high-level and intervention level policy recommendations is expected to result into the reformulation of regulatory frameworks at national and local level. In addition, the Project conducted a environmental and social safeguards study in the seven districts implementing the project to map potential environmental and social risks. The safeguards report informed the design of the Environmental and Social Management Plan detailing key measures and strategies for minimizing key risks and negative impacts that may arise during the project’s implementation.. This robust review allowed TRI to push priority interventions in its policy development work and ensure any negative impacts are mitigated.
The review of national policies and the identification of existing gaps in restoration and generation of concrete recommendations was made possible through the technical input through TRI Tanzania experts and partners. Further, this was enabled by stakeholder interest and willingness underpinned by shared vision and strategic priorities. In addition, effective stakeholder engagement and coordination further ensured successful policy review.
By reviewing existing restoration related policies, legislations and plans, TRI Tanzania has learned lessons around where restoration policy and legal frameworks need to be strengthened and which existing actions have been successful in facilitating restoration. Reviewing the existing frameworks also provides information on where the expertise from the different agencies and stakeholders can be used to better improve restoration policies and more efficiently implement them. Additionally, TRI Tanzania initiated to identify the environmental and social safeguards, the project learned what strategies and measures needed to be established to minimize the negative impacts that might happen due to the activities undertaken by the project on the ground. Through its thorough policy review and identification of safeguards, TRI Tanzania learned what policy gaps needed to be addressed to enhance regulatory frameworks that are supportive of SLR as well as suite of strategies for safeguarding the environment and local communities.