The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in Tanzania and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) met for a discussion on 19 January 2024 to mark the beginning of a partnership towards climate change mitigation through the EU funded initiative on improving the regulatory framework and enforcement capacity for sustainable wood-fuel production under the Integrated Approach to Sustainable Cooking Solutions Programme.

Dr. Nyabenyi Tito Tipo, FAO Representative to Tanzania and Mr. Peter Malika, Head of UNCDF in Tanzania at the conclusion of the kick-off meeting.

This initiative is one of two additional components added to UNCDF who’s currently the Fund Manager and Implementer of the European Union (EU) funded CookFund programme. The additional components increase the EU’s financial support to UNCDF by 2.4 million Euros to 19.4 million Euros and extends the programme duration from 2024 to 2026.

FAO will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) and Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) on the improvement of forest regulatory framework and enforcement capacity for sustainable management of forest resources and wood-fuel production. This includes supporting the formulation, review and implementation of policy, legal framework and regulations related to sustainable forest management, and implement sector policy sessions and dialogues on sustainable forest management including sustainable charcoal production.

During the high-level meeting, Head of UNCDF in Tanzania, Mr. Peter Malika noted the significance of the meeting as an indication of the United Nation’ s collective commitment to working cohesively to address environmental and climate challenges and optimise impact. On the other hand the FAO Representative in Tanzania Dr. Nyabenyi Tito Tipo emphasised the complementarity of the new effort with the previous policy work of FAO, aligning directly with the outcomes of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) on people, prosperity, and planet. Expressing readiness for collaboration, Dr. Tipo underlined the importance of delving into the details for effective implementation.

The next steps for the cooperation between the two institutions include finalisation of technical aspects and engagement of key ministerial and national agency partners followed by formalization of the partnership.

Representatives of UNCDF Tanzania and FAO Tanzania at the kick-off meeting.

Read more about UNCDF's CookFund Programme HERE.