The World Bank has called for accelerated implementation of the Muchinga Emissions Reduction Programme (ERP) to ensure communities benefit from landscape restoration and related development activities.
Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development (TRALARD II) Task Team Leader, Ambroise Brenier, said the programme recognised the importance of landscape restoration and required full commitment from all stakeholders.
Brenier was speaking during a TRALARD II Implementation Support Mission currently underway in Muchinga Province, where the project is implementing the emissions reduction programme.
“The Bank’s main goal in embarking on this program is to see the benefits trickle down to communities in the province and achieve national economic growth,” Brenier said.
World Bank Group Global Manager for Carbon Finance Solutions, Olivier Mahul, commended the Zambian Government for the progress made in developing the Muchinga Emissions Reduction Programme under TRALARD II.
Mahul said the Bank was keen to ensure integrity at every stage of the programme, including eventual carbon trading.
Read More: Zambia seeks wider rollout of emissions reduction projects beyond Muchinga
Meanwhile, TRALARD II National Coordinator, John Katongo Banda said the implementation support mission provided an opportunity to assess project activities against their objectives and measure progress on the ground.
“The Implementation Support Mission provides a basis for measuring project activities against the Project Development Objectives and gauging progress on the ground,” Banda said.
He disclosed that three additional districts — Chinsali, Nakonde and Shiwang’andu — had been added to the initial five, bringing the total number of participating districts in Muchinga Province to eight.
Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary Dr Tuesday Bwalya assured the World Bank Group of the provincial administration’s continued support for the implementation of TRALARD II activities.
“The Muchinga Emissions Reduction Program (ERP) has come at the right time, when President Hakainde Hichilema has made a development call through the Grow Zambia agenda. Muchinga will leverage the potential that lies in a forest economy,” Bwalya said.
He urged government departments in the province to support the programme at every stage and ensure accountability to both financiers and local communities.
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