How Voi residents are combating Climate Change through generation of Carbon Credits

The vast project protects dry forests and wildlife while preventing the emission of carbon dioxide by preventing further deforestation and degradation of the environment by the local community within the project area.

As climate change and its shock hit a critical stage, governments globally pressure the private sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Companies emitting carbon dioxide have turned to carbon credit to offset their environmental footprints.

Geoffrey Mwangi, lead scientist at Wildlife Works, explains that Wildlife Works conserves the environment by generating carbon credits which they later sell to Carbon emitters. He explains that a carbon credit is a unit of exchange that individuals and firms alike use to offset their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“Carbon credits and offsets are vital components of global emissions trading strategies to lower emissions and reduce carbon footprint. Biomass sampling leads to the generation of carbon credit, we have samplers who carefully account for every single tree in this project. Stakeholders get a financial reward by demonstrating that they have conserved a forest that would have degraded,” he explained.

By protecting the forest and earning revenue from carbon credit sales, Wildlife Works has partnered with the local community of the Kasigau Corridor region to co-create long-term jobs that replace the unsustainable sources of income that lead to degradation of the environment or reduction of the forest cover- such as poaching, subsistence farming, and illegal tree harvesting. This includes jobs that protect wildlife, create eco-friendly products, support education, and co-develop conservation agriculture techniques with farmers.

Joram Mwanguo a teacher within the project area was born and raised in the Kasigau Corridor, he recalls the locals degraded the environment by relying heavily on poaching, illegal tree harvesting, charcoal burning and subsistence farming.

"We had degraded the environment and we experienced the impact. Initially, it was difficult for us the locals to understand the carbon credit and the benefits to the community, they taught us how to conserve the forest cover and reduce degradation. We have benefited through schools, hospitals, jobs and scholarships for our children,” he said.

Wildlife Works says the project has been independently verified nine times since 2011 and has avoided roughly 22 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions contribute to the rise in global surface temperatures, leading to unpredictable weather conditions such as drought, floods and heatwaves.

A carbon credit is equivalent to 1 tonne of carbon dioxide emitted into the environment.

Comprising about 17 percent of the world’s population, Africa contributes just 4 percent of global carbon emissions at 1.45 billion tonnes.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement of 2015 are pacts by countries that agreed on international CO2 emission goals internationally. According to Climate Watch, a platform that records countries' climate data, Kenya produces about 70 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

As investors committed to buying credits from the African carbon credit market in an initiative spearheaded by President William Ruto during the Africa Climate Summit to boost carbon credit production, the largely unregulated market continues to face accusations that some offsets do little to the environment while others were accused of exploiting communities.

Joseph Mwakima notes Wildlife Works has a benefit-sharing model where 30 percent of the project revenue goes back to the community. He adds that the locals living in the project area are paid to protect the forest cover

“At Wildlife works, we have employed 400 people, built schools, health facility and scholarships for the community through the benefit sharing model,” he said.

Also Read: Explainer: What are Carbon Credits, who has them, how and where to trade them?