Chyulu Hills Community REDD + Project (เคนยา)

The Chyulu Hills REDD+ project combines two government agencies, three local NGOs and four communities together under a unified banner, the Chyulu Hills Conservation Trust (CHCT). The objective is to set-up a 30-year ‘payment for ecosystem service’ scheme in the landscape. A main goal of the project is to improve grazing and livestock management to prevent further degradation of the rangeland and forest resources.

The Chyulu Hills, in southern Kenya, are a volcanic mountain range approximately 100 km long, and form a central pillar of the much larger Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem which constitutes several national parks, forest reserves and community-owned pastoral land. The emission reduction project established in 2011 under the REDD+ umbrella (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) covers 410,000 hectares of both community and public land around the hills. REDD+ offers financial incentives to developing countries to manage and use their forests responsibly. Payments are channelled through the Trust to support land users for quantifiably reducing emissions.
REDD+ creates financial value for the carbon stored in forests by offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. REDD+ goes beyond simply stopping further deforestation and forest degradation by including sustainable management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
This area is home to 140,000 people including Maasai pastoralists to the west, and Kamba farming communities to the east. This land is widely used for livestock production; must of it under communal tenure. Recent pressures, notably increasing populations and changes in land tenure, have led to unsustainable uses of natural resources, threatening the functioning of the ecosystem, through the degradation of the rangeland and over-exploitation of forest resources. This includes cutting of trees for firewood, charcoal, uncontrolled fires, and weakening of traditional grazing management systems.
The Chyulu Hills REDD+ project aims to protect its rangeland and forest landscapes by creating an alternative income opportunity, and improving both livestock and rangeland management, while preventing the emission of over 18 million tons of carbon dioxide over the project’s 30-year lifetime.
This is the first REDD+ project in Kenya that is fully owned and managed by the local community, a vital factor in ensuring sustained impact. Through the project, land users receive financial support per hectare for maintaining or improving carbon stocks above and below ground. Previous REDD+ projects have often been criticised for not properly engaging local communities or addressing their needs.
To achieve this, the Chyulu Hills Conservation Trust (CHCT) was formed in 2015 to act as the project governing body. The Trust represents multiple stakeholders from the community, government, and local NGOs including the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MMWCT), Big Life Foundation (BLF), and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT). The government is also represented through the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenya Forest Service (KFS), whose mandates include the Chyulu Hills National Park and the Kibwezi Forest Reserve. The national park is used on an informal basis by the communities for dry season grazing, although access is severely limited by water, and also by disease.
The communities are represented by four Maasai group ranches, who manage the land and its resources. These group ranches are areas of communally titled land. The three NGOs have the technical capacity to advise, provide strategic guidance and assist in implementation of the project activities. They are already involved in helping communities to develop and manage conservation areas, and to improve sustainable use of natural resources.
Proceeds from the sale of Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs) flow through the CHCT to initiatives/projects which benefit the community and environment. Early in 2017 the first verification was completed, and shortly afterwards the first marketable carbon credits went on sale, providing income to the CHCT for protecting and improving their carbon stock.
To ensure equitable and transparent sharing of proceeds from carbon sales, a revenue allocation model was implemented to fund (i) office and project costs, (ii) discretionary sub-projects, and (iii) to provide strategic investments to counter drivers of deforestation and land degradation.
The proposed investments into the CHCT area to improve rangeland condition comprise several components. The first component is to support grazing management plans to help restore governance over resources, and ensure sustainable use. This should encourage the recovery of perennial grasses, increase grass cover, and create a heterogeneous forage base. The second focus is value addition to beef marketing through collaborative partnerships. This should encourage pastoralists to focus on management of the rangelands to support the production of higher quality cattle. In the long run this will increase revenue generation for livestock farmers, and stimulate the communities to manage their rangeland better.