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Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and the government of Norway have teamed up to offer masters and doctoral programmes on environmental studies from next month.

Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies at SUA Prof. Jayros Matovelo told 'The Guardian' in Morogoro on Thursday at the closing of a four-day workshop on Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)-Related Research and Capacity Building in Tanzania.

Matovelo said SUA and the government of Norway were finalizing negotiations on an agreement for supporting Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CCM), which would offer masters and doctoral studies at SUA.

He said a total of 50 students would be offered masters and 17 doctoral scholarships, some of whom would get the opportunity to study in Norway while others would pursue their studies at SUA.

He said the aim was to get scientists for implementation of the REDD programme.

He said the program would give priority to female students to attract more women in environmental studies.

“I encourage students to apply soon after the negotiation ends so that they can benefit from the offer,” he said.

Director of Forestry and Bee-keeping in the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Dr. Felician Kilahama said the CCIM agreement would help to solve the shortage of environmental experts in the country.

He said experience had shown that private sector participation in forestry was expanding.

Kilahama applauded the government of Norway for continued support to Tanzania, especially in the REDD programme which would help to solve the problem of climate change.

The four-day workshop was organized by SUA in collaboration with the University of Florida and University of Life Science of Norway.