The Government is preparing a local version of carbon trade arrangement under which people would earn money for planting trees as a measure to reduce global warming.

The Government has also changed the national tree planting day from January 1 to April 1, each year effective next year.

Speaking during a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the acting deputy permanent secretary and director of forestry and beekeeping in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Felician Kilahama, said carbon trade plan is expected to be ready at the end of 2010.

Dr Kilahama said the plan entails monitoring, verification and reporting. It is a part of global campaign to motivate people to plant trees in a bid to counter global warming and other calamities of climate changes.

"The aim is to reward people who plant more tree as a motivation than focusing to punishing those who are cutting down trees," said Dr Kilahama.

He said a team of experts was formed drawing members from the ministry,Vice-President's Office, academicians, private sector and non-governmental organisations, to work on modalities to measure the rate of carbon which will be acceptable globally.

Earlier, the deputy minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Ezekiel Maige, said the Government has changed the national day for planting trees to April 1 because many parts of the country receive rains during that period.

"This is just a national day to encourage tree planting, but each region could choose other dates which coincide with the rain season," said Mr Maige. The deputy minister called on regional and district leaders to encourage people to plant trees as their (leaders') performance will also be measured on that criteria.

But he said the ministry was faced with shortage of forest officers, making supervision oftree planting exercise a difficult task.

Meanwhile, President Jakaya Kikwete has appointed former Speaker of the National Assembly and CCM deputy chairman (Mainland), Mr Pius Msekwa, chairman of the Ngorongoro Conservation Authority (NCAA) effective October this year.

Subsequently, the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ms Shamsa Mwagunga, has named 11 members to the NCAA board.