Completed Research

Mangrove Conservation and Blue Carbon Initiatives in Coastal Kenya

Download Report
Country
Research Year
University of Toronto

The world’s first voluntary blue carbon credit projects, Mikoko Pamoja and Vanga Blue Forest, originated from remote coastal communities in Kenya. These projects sell carbon credits from mangrove conservation that are then re-invested into local development projects including flood-resistant roads, schools, and procuring medical supplies. The Reach Alliance identified several keys to success: meaningful community collaboration, aligning incentives, principled leadership, long-term planning and a clear governance framework. Additionally, The Reach Alliance developed a framework for replicating and scaling these strategies across other settings and is advising several NGOs and government agencies developing their own blue carbon projects.

Read the Report

Hard to Reach

Remote coastal villages in Kenya that are geographically and socioeconomically hard to reach and vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Key Takeaways

Mikoko Pamoja (MP) and the Vanga Blue Forest (VBF) projects are among the first carbon credit projects, with the MP pilot being the first in the world, to leverage blue carbon conservation to generate resources for development in otherwise hard-to-reach communities. These illustrative cases shed light on how conservation can be both sustainable and economically beneficial in communities with low income by:

  • Aligning Incentives. Ongoing investment in sustainable practices requires incentives that are aligned with the needs, interests, and priorities of key stakeholders.
  • Leadership. Successful local carbon projects require strong leadership, specifically principled commitments among community leaders to mangrove conservation and to addressing climate change more generally.
  • Local Participation. Success depends on local participation and engagement at every stage.
  • Long-term Planning. A long-term project plan is required for carbon reduction permanence to ensure the validity and value of the carbon credits.
  • Clarifying Governance and Policy Framework. The carbon market is still relatively new and has been described by many as the “wild west.” Regulatory strengthening will help address the skepticism surrounding carbon credit markets

Researchers

Mentors