African scientists get their boots dirty to learn about REDD

Based on the principle that the best way to learn is through practical experience, the World Agroforestry Centre brought a group of scientists to the Rukinga REDD project in southeastern Kenya last week, as part of a science meeting of the Africa Biocarbon Initiative. The meeting and field trip were jointly convened by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the World Agroforestry Centre, with additional funding from the Africa Wildlife Foundation.

The scientists came from 14 African countries, to see for themselves how a project for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation can reduce the drivers of deforestation by providing alternative income-generating activities for communities. These activities at Rukinga include a garment and soap-making factory, eco-tourism, sustainable charcoal production, and investments in education. While some of the visiting scientists had worked on Afforestation/Reforestation projects under the Clean Development Mechanism, or on community-based tree planting programmes, this was the first time that many saw a full-fledged REDD project.

The Rukinga project is located in a threatened and degraded dryland forest in Kenya in an important wildlife corridor between Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. Twelve years ago Wildlife Works acquired conservation rights to the 75,000 acres of land. The company’s initial activity was to establish a conservation based development project, with the goal of providing communities with real economic alternatives to poaching and charcoal production. In 2009 the company launched Kenya’s first REDD project to expand its protection to in the Kasigau Corridor, and bring conservation related income to over 3000 Kenyan shareholders of the land.

As the first and only REDD project in Kenya, the project aims to avoid over 3.5 million metric tones of CO₂ emissions from deforestation and degradation, over a period of 20 years since 1998. The project has already been validated under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) GOLD standards, and aims to be validated and verified against the Voluntary Carbon Standards. The credits have already found a buyer. (For more technical details, click to download the ProjectDesign Document in PDF).

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The visiting scientists were impressed by many details from the project, including the potential for dryland forests to contribute to emissions reductions, the good integration of alternative activities to support livelihoods, the involvement of local communities in data collection, and the patience and perseverance of the project developers in pushing this initiative forward.

The visit raised a number of important questions for REDD-plus in general.

What is the role of REDD in the context of protected areas? Though some areas may be officially protected, many governments lack the resource to effectively prevent deforestation and degradation. REDD may play an important role in financing better protective measures. The Rukinga REDD project is helping to protect the zone between two national parks, providing an important buffer.

How are benefits shared with communities? In Rukinga, the land is privately owned by the investor. In the surrounding areas, which are group ranches with up to 2,800 shareholders, the REDD profits will have to be divided among the shareholders (1/3), the community (1/3), and the investor (1/3).  The local communities may decide for themselves whether they prefer the profits to be invested into income-generating activities (i.e. a woodlot for charcoal production) or to just get the cash in hand. The scientists questioned the modalities for sharing benefits with communities, particularly in situations where land is held by few and many shareholders, and where communities come from mixed groups and may not have representative leadership.

How do we ensure long-term sustainability? What is the potential for long-term success, after the 20-year REDD period is over. Will the economic alternatives be sufficiently developed to support the ever-growing community once the REDD payments run out? How can we overcome the high start-up cost for a REDD project? Wildlife Works were successful in signing a pre-contract with a buyer to help finance the project. How else can project developers access start-up funds?

How do we share successes and lessons with decision-makers? How can an example such as Rukinga help inform national and international policy, and how can this type of project be multiplied across Africa? This and other projects can help generate guidelines for best practises for REDD in Africa

Sharing these lessons is a vital part of supporting implementation of more projects across Africa.