The Zambian government, in conjunction with the World Bank, has launcher a $63.9 million programme aimed at boosting climate action in the country’s Eastern Province.

Known as the “Eastern Province Jurisdictional Sustainable Landscape Programme,” the programme is looking at improving livelihoods and reducing emissions from forestry and land use sectors, according to Green Economy and Environment Minister, Mike Mposha.

Mposha who launched the programme in Lusaka on Wednesday at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre, said it was a follow-up to the Zambia Integrated Forest Landscape Project which was concluded on February 29, 2024.

Mposha noted that the programme introduced results-oriented climate financing, focusing on carbon trading, benefit sharing and climate change mitigation in Eastern Province.

Giving a break down on how the funds would be expended, the minister said:

“Of the total funding, $50 million will be allocated to purchasing verified emission reductions, while $13.9 million will support investments in sustainable forest management, climate-smart agriculture, and wildlife management in the province,” Mposha said.

He added that the verified emission reductions would be traded as certified carbon credits through the biocarbon fund initiative for sustainable forest landscapes and other international carbon buyers, while the generated monetary benefits would be transparently distributed to local communities to encourage better management of natural resources.

The programme will run from 2024 to 2030 and is expected to generate 29 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in verified emission reductions.

He noted that the carbon credits will be traded on international markets, with revenue distributed among rural communities in all 57 chiefdoms, private carbon developers, and government institutions in Eastern Province.

The revenue distribution would follow a benefit-sharing plan: 15 percent to the government, 30 percent to private carbon project developers, and 55 percent to communities.

World Bank Country Manager, Dr Achim Fock, who also attended the launching, stated that the programme would scale up sustainable agriculture and forest activities, improving agricultural yields, incomes and community resilience against climate change impacts.

He also noted its potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while delivering co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation.

The Nigerian government says it is confident that reforms undertaken by President Bola Tinubu since assuming office in 2023 are beginning to yield positive fruits as the economy is now on the right path.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who made the assertion on Thursday while speaking at the Access Bank Annual Corporate Forum 2024 in Lagos, said the government no longer depended on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund its emerging obligations, attributing the feat to fruits yielded by ongoing efforts to improve efficiency and ramp up revenues.

The minister said the government had also put a stop to the use of Ways and Means advances for meeting emerging financing obligations, a practice that had been rampant in the past, which was often the last resort to finance the government during periods of budget shortfalls.

According to Edun, “concerted fiscal measures being implemented by the government have recorded a 100 per cent increase in revenues, particularly the domestic components, which underlined improving efficiency due to the application of technology to government management.’

Edun stated that President Tinubu has fully supported the efforts of the financial management team to put in place a world-class management system that ensures that the country’s finances are managed in efficient ways.

“We have relative currency stability and we’ve seen a gradual elimination of multiple exchange rates. We also have foreign exchange liquidity,” Edun said.

“The gross reserves are up. There has been a net inflow in the first seven months of this year of about $2.35 billion every month.

“On the fiscal side as well, government revenues are growing and the key to government revenue is not so much that government has revenue to compete with the private sector,” he added.

He noted that the government was working to plug all loopholes and optimise Nigeria’s financial potential by ensuring that the country’s sovereign assets are fully harnessed for growth and development.

Edun pointed out that as part of the gains of the government’s macroeconomic reforms, the country now records a monthly net inflow of about $2.35 billion into its foreign exchange (forex) reserves in the past seven months.

According to him, the increase in foreign reserves has contributed significantly to the stability of the naira in the forex market.