Page
54
Building Blue Carbon Projects
An Introductory Guide
8.2
Mikoko Pamoja - Community-led Mangrove Carbon Conservation Project in Kenya
Located 65 kilometres south of
Mombassa, Kenya, Gazi Bay is
home
to
several
villages
surrounding a mangrove forest.
Local communities depend on
the mangroves for wood (e.g.
building poles and firewood)
and non-wood forest products
as well as services such as
seafood,
and
traditional
medicine.
However,
the
mangroves
have
been
extensively degraded since the
1970s, through commercial
logging and conversion of
mangrove habitat to other uses,
particularly
agriculture
and
coastal development. Loss of
mangroves has led to shortages of firewood and building materials, a decline in fisheries, and
increased coastal erosion. Hence, there is an urgent need for the rehabilitation, conservation, and
sustainable use of the mangroves at Gazi Bay.
Gazi Bay is the site of the Mikoko Pamoja project (Figure 10), the first community-led mangrove
conservation project to be certified for carbon finance by the voluntary carbon market. Project
activities include, mangrove conservation, reforestation of degraded areas, and reduced impact
logging in an area covering 107 hectares. The estimated 3,000 tons CO
2
-equivalent of carbon
credits carbon credits generated through the project are sold into the voluntary carbon market;
generating approximately U.S. $12,000 per annum to the local community.
Partners of the Mikoko Pamoja project (translated as “mangroves together”) include: Kenya
Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), the project host and lead government institution;
Aviva, a multinational insurance company and the project funder; Earthwatch Institute, a
volunteer organization; Edinburgh Napier University, a research institution; and other Kenyan
government institutions and local stakeholders.
The Mikoko Pamoja project is verified under the Plan Vivo Standard, a framework for supporting
communities to manage their natural resources more sustainably, with a view to generating
climate, livelihood, and ecosystem benefits through payments for ecosystem services - in this case
carbon. The project was initiated in June 2010, and in October 2013 it was officially given
permission to start operations by the Kenyan Government through the issuing of a Forest
Management Agreement to the Gazi Bay community, and the project is currently awaiting
certification by Plan Vivo. Payments for mangrove carbon are expected to be realised in 2014.
Figure 10
Mikoko Pamoja project site in Kenya (Plan Vivo, 2010).
