1

Plan Vivo Project Portfolio

Improving livelihoods, restoring ecosystems

Plan Vivo

CONTENTS

2

People and livelihoods Ethical climate services

Ecosystems Watersheds PES Native species

BiodiversityAdaptation

Poverty Reduction

Community Rights

Participation

Transparency Habitats

Introduction

The Plan Vivo Standard p.2 Plan Vivo Key Figures p.4 Why support Plan Vivo? p.5 Latin America: Scolel’te - Mexico p.8 CommuniTree Carbon Project - Nicaragua p.10 ArBolivia - Bolivia p.12

Africa:

Trees for Global Benefits - Uganda p.16 Emiti Nibwo Bulora - Tanzania p.18 Trees of Hope - Malawi p.20 REDD+ in the Yaeda Valley - Tanzania p.22 Mikoko Pamoja - Kenya p.24 Sofala - Mozambique p.26

Asia:

Hiniduma Bio-Link Project - Sri Lanka p.30 Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project - India p.32 Himalayan Community Carbon Project - Nepal p.34

Projects at validation stage in 2015 p.36

Project Pipeline p.37

The Plan Vivo Standard provides a framework for rural communities to manage their natural resources more sustainably, with a view to generating climate, livelihood & ecosystem benefits.

The Plan Vivo Standard

What would your support mean?Purchasing Plan Vivo Certificates in order to offset your organisation’s emissions, invest in your supply chain or strengthen your CSR, means you will be investing in community-led projects.

These proactively involve marginalised members of communities and boost livelihoods with direct income and investment in sustainable enterprises. You will help equip at-risk communities with the tools to shape their own sustainable futures.

Validation & VerificationPlan Vivo projects are independently validated by both internal and external reviewers, and verified periodically by trusted third parties such as the Rainforest Alliance, ESI, AENOR and EPIC Sustainability. The promotion of community-based monitoring reduces the need for costly external technical support and strengthens communities’ capacity, ownership and commitment to projects.

RecognitionAs one of the pioneers in the voluntary carbon market, the Plan Vivo network has received widespread recognition and generous support from the likes of the UK’s DFID, World Bank, UNDP, UNCCD, Carbon Trust, Clinton Foundation, Hunter Foundation, Waterloo Foundation, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna & Flora Intl. and National Geographic, among many others.

What is the Plan Vivo Standard?The Plan Vivo Foundation has created a set of requirements for smallholders and communities wishing to manage their land more sustainably. This is achieved through a diverse range of project interventions that enhance and quantify ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity or watershed protection. These requirements are designed to ensure that projects contribute to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, serve local needs and alleviate poverty in rural communities.

Plan Vivo CertificatesPlan Vivo projects generate Plan Vivo Certificates. Each certificate represents the sequestration or avoided emission of 1 tonne CO2e with additional co-benefits achieved through the project design, with local needs at its heart.

Improving livelihoods, restoring ecosystems, protecting biodiversityThe integrated co-benefits delivered by projects is where Plan Vivo stands out from the crowd. Plan Vivo is the only Standard to require direct payments to communities; the only Standard stipulating the planting of native or naturalised species; and the only Standard (2013 version) where projects ensure a minimum of 60% of revenues goes to communities.

Flexible and innovative approachPlan Vivo promotes the development of sustainable livelihoods, thus addressing the root causes of deforestation and degradation, such as encroachment, timber, fuelwood and charcoal extraction, which require innovative solutions. Plan Vivo develops and utilizes new approaches tailored to the realities and needs of local people, as well as delivering long-term verified carbon offsets and ecosystem services for the buyers of Plan Vivo Certificates.

Present & Past Supporters:

32

The first ever ‘Plan Vivo’ (living plan) dating back to the Scolel’te project in 1998.

Plan Vivo key figures Why support Plan Vivo?

54

Ample ExperienceThanks to its ample experience, the Plan Vivo standard has been tried and tested. The standard is continuously evolving to adapt to the needs of projects and to generate high environmental, social and economic benefits for communities.

Community-led ProjectsAll Plan Vivo projects are community-owned rather than just community-focused. On the one hand, this means that Plan Vivo projects are highly additional by working primarily with communities that would otherwise lack the financial, organisational or technical capacity to develop sustainable land-use systems. Moreover, communities directly benefit from PES payments administered by their project coordinators. As such, the standard has a strong participatory bottom-up approach, which allows communities to socially benefit from the Plan Vivo standard.

Long-term sustainabilityPlan Vivo projects are based on the idea that carbon payments should function as an enabler for communities to generate income from improved and sustainable ecosystem management beyond PES payments. Therefore, the standard has a strong focus on supporting projects that have a full spectrum of generating social and environmental co-benefits as well as reducing poverty.

Growing DemandFrom 2012 onwards, there has been a sharp increase in demand for certification by Plan Vivo. There are 44 projects at some stage of development, of which 12 are already registered. These span 30 different countries. Nearly 2 million certificates have been issued to date, which has resulted in almost $9 million being channelled into rural communities.

Reselling PartnersPlan Vivo Certificates for the projects showcased in this brochure can be purchased directly from the projects or through trusted third parties. A selection of these is detailed below. If you would like to become more involved with this inspiring network of projects, please get in touch with us at the Plan Vivo Foundation.

Plan Vivo is the longest-standing voluntary standard for forest carbon. The first certificates were generated in 1997 after the development of a DFID-funded research project in Chiapas, Mexico.

Plan Vivo projects are located in over 11 different countries across Latin America, Asia and Africa, and include projects that combine carbon sequestration activities with livelihood and ecosystem benefits.

Plan Vivo projects extend training and capacity-building to smallholders and local communities, supporting them to efficiently switch to sustainable land management tecniques.

Smallholders in rural communities benefit from Plan Vivo’s flexible and simple approach which allows them to implement activities that enable income diversification and other livelihood benefits.

Plan Vivo-certified projects have directly channelled funds to smallholders and communities, and have thereby contributed directly to poverty alleviation and local employment opportunities.

www.zeromission.se

www.cotap.orgwww.clevel.co.uk

www.prima-klima-weltweit.de

www.myclimate.org

www.unitedbankofcarbon.com

6 7

LATIN AMERICA

People and livelihoods Ethical climate services

Ecosystems Watersheds PES Native species

BiodiversityAdaptation

Poverty Reduction

Community Rights

Participation

Transparency Habitats

Scolel’te - Mexico

CommuniTree Carbon Project - Nicaragua

ArBolivia - Bolivia

8 9

Contact details: www.ambio.org.mxEmail: info@ambio.org.mxPhone: +52 967 6788409

Climate Services and Land ManagementLand-use management plans are in place for the long-term sequestration of more than 459,060 tonnes of CO2e, which are monitored by local and regional technicians and reported annually. The project has the capacity to generate 30,000 Plan Vivo Certificates (PVCs) per year, each representing the sequestration or reduction of one tonne of CO2e plus additional co-benefits. Scolel’te forest management activities include forest restoration and enrichment (improved fallows), trees planted with food crops (taungya), shade-grown coffee, forest boundaries (live fences), and protection of natural forest to avoid land-use change.The project area encompasses a number of important ecological regions, including buffer zones of natural protected areas, such as Montes Azules, El Triunfo, La Sepultura and Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserves; the Protected Area for Flora and Fauna of Naha-Metzabok (Ramsar site) and the Protected Area for Natural Resources of La Frailescana.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Scolel’te has protected and conserved more than 7,500 ha of forest

in Chiapas and Oaxaca. • Restoration of degraded pine oak forest in upland areas.• Restoration of tropical rainforests.• Protection and restoration of endangered Tropical Mountain Cloud

Forest.• Watersheds protection.• Habitat for North American migratory birds.• Reforestation with 25 local species.

Livelihood Benefits• The Scolel’te programme supports more than 1,200 smallholders of

Mayan and Mestizo farmers, organized into around 90 communities.• Multiple indigenous groups are benefited, including the Tzeltal,

Lacandon and Chol communities in the rainforest, Tojolabales in the southern border, as well as Tsotsil and Zoque people in western Chiapas.

• Scolel’te carries out regular meetings with forest technicians, community representatives and local authorities aimed at promoting social participation and community-based organization.

• Creation of local employment for sustainable forest management resulting in income diversification.

• Increased environmental awareness and climate change adaptation in rural communities.

• A strong framework for parallel projects: fuel-efficient stoves, wildfire prevention, low-emissions livestock farming and agriculture, beekeeping, non-timber forest products.

Scolel’te is an ecosystem services programme focused on reforestation and forest management. Scolel’te is the longest-running ecosystem services project on the Voluntary Carbon Market across the globe. It has served as a benchmark and formed the basis for the development of the Plan Vivo system.Location• Central & Northern Chiapas, MexicoProject Coordinator• Cooperativa Ambio S.C. de R.L.Operational since• 1997PVCs issued to date• 468,090Area of land under management• 7,641.75 haProject Interventions• Afforestation• Agroforestry• Reforestation• Forest Restoration• Avoided DeforestationParticipants• 2,735 smallholders (of which 1,235 with PES

agreements) and 7 community groupsProject Milestones• Pilot programme: 1994• Registration & Validation: 1997• Independent review: 2000 • 1st Verification: 2002 (SGS)• 2nd Verification: 2006 (Rainforest Alliance)• 3rd Verification: 2008 (Rainforest Alliance)• 4th Verification: 2013 (Rainforest Alliance)Long-term sustainability drivers• Protects more than 7,500 ha of forest buffer

zones in Chiapas• High-value sustainable timber• Capacity-building for sustainable forest

management• Territorial planning• Environmental awareness• Restoration of endangered tropical cloud forestExamples of past & present buyers• FIA Foundation • World Bank• HSBC Reforestamos Mexico• Mexico President’s Office• U&We (Ekobanken, Absolut Vodka)• IUCN

Scolel’te - Mexico

Scolel’te (“the tree that grows” in Mayan Tzeltal language) is the longest-standing project in the Plan Vivo network, dating back to a pilot programme in 1994. It was officially operational three years later. It has been running on a commercially self-sufficient basis since 2002 under the leadership of AMBIO, a Mexican environmental non-profit cooperative that coordinates the project and organises field activities in cooperation with various community groups, smallholder farmers and social organisations.The Scolel’te programme supports more than 2,735 producers and 7 community groups, benefitting approximately 2,450 families. In March 2011, Scolel’te was recognised by Initiativa Mexico Awards. Scolel’te was chosen as a national finalist from hundreds of local initiatives and showcased on national television, as an outstanding local environmental initiative. In 2013, AMBIO also received the Mexican National Forest Merit Award.

Photo credits: Britt Basel

Image: freevectormaps.com

Contents page

10 11

Contact details: http://www.takingroot.orgEmail: info@takingroot.orgPhone: +1 514 418 1408

Climate Services and Land ManagementBetween 2010 and 2014, the program has collaborated with 280 smallholder families to plant 1,183,000 native trees, sequestering 256,604 tCO2e, and has contributed $974,316 to a community fund that provides direct payments to smallholders. Based on forestry best practices, Taking Root’s internal verification (i.e. monitoring) procedure takes place annually using a custom-built Smallholder Carbon Project Information Management System (SCPIMS). Through the SCPIMS, 10% of the land of every farm reforested is randomly verified and every tree within that area is measured. This information serves to determine the amount of carbon sequestered by the trees and also informs management decisions tailored to the needs of each site. The results are made publicly available in our annual reports posted on the Plan Vivo website.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• The program is located on a critically important watershed that feeds directly into the Real Estuary, recognized by the Ramsar

Convention as a wetland of international priority due its abundance of biodiversity. • The trees help retain humidity in the dry season and minimize flooding and landslides in the rainy season. • Intentional design of native tree species including the re-introduction of two high-value at-risk tree species (Swietenia humilis

and Bombacopsis quinata. See: iucn.org) .• The program promotes the natural regeneration of other tree species within the planted stands where 71 unique tree species

have been recorded. Tree species are selected in part due to their contributions to wildlife habitat. • Planting design allows for heterogeneous multi-function tree stands in terms of species, age and canopy structure, which

favours wildlife habitat, soil fertility, while increasing forest productivity and providing harvests of valuable forest products. • An emphasis is also placed on working with nitrogen fixing trees (NFTs). Based on conversion factors obtained from scientific

literature on Gliricidia sepium, one of the NFTs used in the program, Taking Root estimates that the trees contribute 9,990 kg of naturally produced nitrogen annually.

• Most of the tree species planted are deciduous, meaning they shed their leaves in the dry season, contributing large quantities of biomass to rebuild the soil.

Livelihood and Gender Equality Benefits (between 2010-2014):• $579,198 (equivalent to 527 annual salaries) has been paid to the

community in the form of payments for ecosystem services, advance payments and salaries;

• An additional $395,118 has been earmarked for future ecosystem service payments provided that smallholders meet carbon sequestration targets;

• In 2014, 991 seasonal and 15 full time jobs are created every year. 207 of these employees are women, 235 of them are landless farmers;

• Women and women’s groups are particularly targeted in the program’s ongoing community consultations and workshops so that the project design can be adapted to their specific needs. $17,000 worth of seeds is purchased for the nurseries annually from additional women in the region who collect them from their trees.

The CommuniTree Carbon Program is a smallholder reforestation initiative in Nicaragua financed through the sale of carbon offsets. The program encourages smallholder farmers to establish mixed native species forest plantations on the underutilized portions of their farms in order to mitigate climate change.

Location• Municipalities San Juan de Limay, Esteli and

Somoto, Madriz in NicaraguaProject Coordinator• Taking RootOperational since• 2010PVCs issued to date• 256,604Area of land under management• 866 haProject Interventions• Agroforestry• Afforestation• ReforestationParticipants• 280Project Milestones• Registered in 2011• Validation in 2011• 1st verification in 2015Long-term sustainability drivers• Wide variety of native tree species well

adapted to future climate scenarios.• Development of markets for sustainably

produced forest products.• Strong focus on data collection and adaptive

management.• Strong community presence and

responsiveness to evolving local priorities. Examples of past & present buyers• Inter-American Development Bank• Tuff Gong Worldwide• Arivd Nordquist • Jack Wolfskin

CommuniTree Carbon Project - Nicaragua

Taking Root is a pioneer in leveraging the forest carbon offset industry for economic development amongst smallholder farmers in Central America. This is achieved by encouraging smallholder farming families to reforest the under-utilized parts of their farms in exchange for direct payments over time as the trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

To ensure that these benefits are long-lived, the program is specifically designed so that the forest plantations provide ongoing livelihood benefits to participating smallholder farmers in the following ways:

Participants receive direct payments for ecosystem services (PES) over a 10-year period, which amount to 60% of the carbon credit sale price. As the densely planted trees start to crowd each other out, they are selectively harvested to allow the plantation as a whole to continue to grow, thus optimizing long-run carbon sequestration while providing sustainably produced merchantable timber.

Participants’ livelihoods are better adapted to climate change because trees are more resilient to droughts and flooding than traditional agricultural crops so their livelihoods are partially hedged against the risk of extreme weather events caused by climate change. Moreover, forest plantations are additional to agricultural activities and the income that they provide is designed to be counter-cyclical to the agricultural season, thus helping to distribute livelihood activities to the times of the year when they are the most needed.

Taking Root is currently working with international development organizations to extend the successful CommuniTree Carbon Program to Guatemala, Haiti, and El Salvador.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: Taking Root

Contents page

12 13

Contact details: http://www.arbolivia.orgEmail: info@arbolivia.orgPhone: +591 4 4485119

Climate Services and Land ManagementSmallholders under the Plan Vivo system maintain 195 hectares of tree lots for sustainable wood production. The project has the capacity to generate 60,000 Plan Vivo certificates per year, each representing the equivalent of 1 tonne of CO2e. Participating farmers are trained and encouraged to cultivate both food crops and timber on the same plot of land, whilst trees are used to improve soil conditions through nitrogen fixation, combat soil compaction, prevent erosion and reduce flooding. Interplanting is adopted to increase the number of crops in one area. Different crop varieties are recommended according to individual site conditions, leading to enhanced yields.

The project also emphasizes the use of native species, using 18 native hardwoods, grown from local seeds. The project provides training on a wide range of subjects with the aim of providing knowledge on “climate smart agriculture”, including the production and use of organic fertilisers, biogas production, fire prevention and many other topics.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Improved soil protection and soil improvement through reforestation.• Hydrographical watershed protection and regulation.• Reduction in annual burning of crop residues.• Some tree species (e.g. Tapirira guianensis) provide fodder for wildlife.• Some species (e.g. Calophyllum brasiliensis & Tapirira guianensis) can survive

extended periods submerged under water and are used to protect against erosion as a result of flooding.

• Training in fire prevention and control, establishing local volunteer brigades and providing public broadcast services of fire risks.

• Training on production and use of organic fertilisers reduces the use and resultant impact of harmful chemicals.

• Leguminous species help to fix nitrogen in the soil and improve fertility.

Livelihood BenefitsSmallholders receive training in improved agricultural techniques and how to evaluate and assess agricultural and afforestation activities. Incomes increase as a result of improved agricultural production including:

• Enhanced yields as a result of the use of leguminous cover crops to improve soil fertility

• Shade trees planted to protect delicate cash crops and regulate soil water• Optimum plant spacing is recommended to ensure that fruits grow to their full potential• New cash crops such as peanuts, chia, stevia and moringa are being developed that

have much higher value than traditional crops• Training on the production and use of organic fertilisers mean that farmers do not

need to buy expensive chemical products• Training on fire prevention reduces the risk of losing crops to wildfires• Recommendations for appropriate grasses, silvo-pastural planting

including leguminous tree species leads to improved pasture and allows for higher stocking rates.

The ArBolivia project started as a portfolio of small-scale reforestation activities within the Clean Development Mechanism of UNFCCC, but has shifted to voluntary carbon markets. The project seeks to implement reforestation through an association between local smallholders and ethical investors.

Location• Cochabamba Tropics, BoliviaProject Coordinator• SICIREC Bolivia Ltd.Operational since• 2007PVCs issued to date• 34,766Area of land under management• 195.75 haProject Interventions• AfforestationParticipants• 152 smallholdersProject Milestones• Registered in 2011• 1st verification in 2016Long-term sustainability drivers• The project uses 18 different native species

grown from local seeds• Strong Focus on Education and Capacity

Building• Establishment of conservation areasExamples of past & present buyers• ForestFinance• Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre• Clearway Sustainability Resources Ltd

ArBolivia - Bolivia

The ArBolivia project is being implemented in the Cochabamba tropics, Santa Cruz (Ichilo Province), Northern La Paz and Western Beni. The project includes around 900 smallholders, belonging to around 50 different community groups. Plan Vivo certificates have so far been issued on behalf of 152 familiies.

The lack of capital to invest in more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices has traditionally forced many smallholders to employ slash and burn techniques, which continue to threaten the western fringes of the Amazon. With the help of investment capital provided mainly by the UK not-for-profit sector, The Cochabamba Project is reforesting affected areas together with communities, providing households with the prospect of substantial, ongoing, additional revenues.

Carbon credit revenues help to fund additional activities in the short-term aimed at increasing crop yields for families, whilst also saving one of the most unique and precious ecosystems on the planet – the Amazon rainforest.

The project enables purchasers of carbon credits to link directly to individual farmers, making it possible to demonstrate its social and environmental impacts.

In January 2010, ArBolivia, was the first and only foreign plantation forestry project to received the “Green Status” from the Dutch government and therefore now qualifies for loans from the “Green Funds” of Dutch investment banks.

19 forestry committees have been established to ensure ongoing stakeholder dialogue and community-focused development. In the indigenous territories the work of the forestry committee is conducted within the pre-existing community structures.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: ArBolivia

Contents page

AFRICA

Trees for Global Benefits - Uganda

Emiti Nibwo Bulora - Tanzania

Trees of Hope - Malawi

REDD+ in the Yaeda Valley - Tanzania

Mikoko Pamoja - Kenya

Sofala - Mozambique

People and livelihoods Ethical climate services

Ecosystems Watersheds PES Native species

BiodiversityAdaptation

Poverty Reduction

Community Rights

Participation

Transparency Habitats

16 17

Contact details: www.ecotrust.or.ugEmail: support@ecotrust.or.ugPhone: +256 312 266419

Climate Services and Land ManagementThrough its activities, the long-term carbon sequestration of the project is 649,711 tonnes of CO2e. TGB enables communities to gain skills and knowledge to manage land sustainably in three different aspects: afforestation, improved forest management and assisted regeneration. The project has the capacity to generate 100,000 Plan Vivo Certificates (PVCs) with each certificate representing the sequestration or reduction of one tonne of CO2e, as well as other co-benefits. The project is active in the districts of Bushenyi, Hoima Kasese, Masindi, Gulu, Adjumani, Mbale, Manafwa and Bududa, and encompasses about 4,064 ha of land.TGB has been verified by the Rainforest Alliance in 2009 and in 2013 which involved an assessment of the project’s monitoring as well as the sustainability of project activities.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Further expansion of indigenous tree species, native islands and corridors.• Restoration, protection and management of degraded and threatened

ecosystems.• Increased provision of alternative sources of wood.• Regulation of micro-climates.• Improved water purification.• Soil stabilisation and improved moisture retention on slopes.

Livelihood Benefits

• TGB supports more than 3,278 smallholder farmers and their families. • The structure of payments allows farmers to consider long-term

investment horizons, using part of their land to develop assets which not only provide short-term cash and needed livelihood inputs but also long-term benefits from materials and income that can be enjoyed in the future.

• The project has supported two communities in acquiring titles of communal ownership for the improved management of the community forests in their area.

• Carbon farmers have the ability to join local village banks through the purchase of shares, thus helping to capitalise the village banks.

TGB won the Low Carbon SEED award in October 2013. The award was presented to TGB by UNEP, UNDP and IUCN in recognition of the project’s focus on integrating social, environmental and economic benefits into its business models.

The TGB model has been adopted and promoted by UNDP as an effective model for promoting Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EBA)

Trees for Global Benefit (TGB) is a cooperative carbon offsetting scheme which combines community-led activities to increase carbon sequestration with performance-based payments for farmers.

Location• Bushenyi, Hoima, Masindi and Kasese districts,

UgandaProject Coordinator• EcotrustOperational since• 2003PVCs issued to date• 734,816Area of land under management• 4,064 haProject Interventions• Afforestation• Reforestation• AgroforestryParticipants• 3,278 smallholdersProject Milestones• Registered and operational since 2003• 1st Verification: 2009 (Rainforest Alliance)• 2nd Verification: 2013 (Rainforest Alliance)Long-term sustainability drivers• Collaborative Natural Resource Management

Groups.• Sustainable Timber Production.• Capacity-building for Farmers to Improve their

Livelihoods, • Community-based monitoring.• Carbon Bank – a type of revolving fund that

supports the matching of supply with demand.• The structure of payments allows farmers

to consider long-term investment horizons, that seeks to use tree planting as a livelihood strategy.

Examples of past & present buyers• Embassy of Ireland in Uganda• Uganda Carbon Bureau: Royal Danish Embassy• Climate Path Ecologic Fund• Shepherd Building Group• Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB• Bartlett Foundation

Trees for Global Benefits - Uganda

Trees for Global Benefits is designed as a cooperative community–based carbon offset scheme with livelihood components emphasising sustainable land-use practices. It operates as a market solution that reduces unsustainable exploitation of forest resources and the decline of ecosystem quality, while diversifying and increasing incomes for rural farmers and their families.

TGB combines carbon sequestration with rural livelihood improvements through small-scale, farmer-led, agroforestry projects and ecosystem services by linking rural farmers to the international ecosystem markets. The TGB scheme operates as a Programme of Activities to enable scaling up through the design of new activities and the recruitment of new farming communities.

In addition to farmers’ direct payments for planting trees and sequestering carbon, the project aims to contribute to income stability, food security, and fuel security at community level.

Ecotrust also requires that participating farmers open bank accounts in which to deposit their earnings, which helps project participants to improve their financial planning at household level. Ecotrust supports and facilitates the opening of bank accounts for farmers who do not yet have them. With the project, village banks are growing and becoming more sustainable as a growing number of participating farmers steadily adopt the practice of saving.

Like most Plan Vivo projects, TGB is a community-led project, meaning that participating smallholders and communities have a significant and direct role in project deisgn. Specifically, project participants are involved in tree species selection, seed gathering, seedling nursery building, tree planting, and overseeing tree protection.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: Trees for Global Benefits

Contents page

18 19

Emiti Nibwo Bulora a climate change mitigation project that enables small-scale farmers in the Kagera region in western Tanzania to improve their land management methods through tree planting, by giving them access to carbon revenue streams through the adoption of sustainable agroforestry techniques.

Location• Kagera region, TanzaniaProject Coordinator• Vi AgroforestryOperational since• 2008PVCs issued to date• 56,992Area of land under management• 373.33 ha + 91.3 kmProject Interventions• AgroforestryParticipants• 669 smallholders• 29 community groups, e.g. schoolsProject Milestones• Verification in 2015• Registered in 2010• Validation in 2009Long-term sustainability drivers• Sustainable Timber • Agroforestry for improved soil quality and

agricultural yields• Positive knock-on effect on soil and water

qualityExamples of past & present buyers• Hotel Oden• Folksam• Naturratan• BioGaia• Billogram• CCAFS

Emiti Nibwo Bulora - Tanzania

The Emiti Nibwo Bulora project directly involves small-scale farmers from the Kagera region in western Tanzania in the mitigation of climate change, whilst delivering livelihood benefits to communities. The project is an Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) project which trains farmers in sustainable land use management techniques that result in carbon sequestration and deliver economic and social benefits.

After community-led project design, farmers benefit from capacity-building and enhanced skills in sustainable resource management. Through Plan Vivo certification, farmers are able to access carbon payments to enable them to cover costs at farm and household level. These payments for ecosystem service do not only contribute to immediate biodiversity and ecosystems benefits, but also have knock-on effects regarding poverty reduction and capacity development.

Contact details: www.viskogen.seEmail: info@viskogen.sePhone: +46 8 120 371 00

Climate Services and Land ManagementThe primary objective is to involve farmers in the Kagera region of Tanzania in diversifying their agricultural production, and therefore their income streams, using sustainable agroforestry management techniques. The overall carbon sequestration potential of the project is 65,000 tCO2e, based on four project activities, including boundary planting, the set-up of fruit orchards, dispersed inter-planting and woodlot establishment for improved soil fertility. The project has an annual capacity to generate between 6,000 - 10,000 Plan Vivo Certificates per year.The Kagera Region has in the past been heavily deforested due to local use of biomass as the main source of energy. The project intervention does not only result in more sustainable land use, but also allows to further protect the Kagera river, a main inflow to Lake Victoria, in terms of siltation and eutrophication.The project was validated in 2009 and will receive its first verification visit in 2015.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Increase of tree cover resulting in better shading for crops and shelter for

wildlife.• Re-utilization of abandoned or bare, degraded land through reforestation.• Increase in biodiversity thanks to newly created micro climates.• Enhanced soil fertility through the establishment of nitrogen-fixing trees.• Wildlife protection thanks to increased forest cover.• Some farmers have invested in solar systems, further alleviating pressure on

natural resources.• Improved land management systems decrease soil erosion.

Livelihood Benefits• Further to its carbon reduction potential, the project is focused on poverty

alleviation by offering smallholders training and capacity building to increase and diversify their agricultural yields.

• The project has linked environmental education to general education of children of the communities, therefore focusing on the sustainability of the project.

• Communities within the project have set up loan associations and village saving banks giving smallholders access to microloans.

• Payment received apart from being used to manage the farm it also serves for family matters like school fees, paying medical bills, contribution to community development activities like building of secondary schools etc.

• Many project participants have been able to install improved and more efficient cook stoves.

• Many farmers were enabled to set up small enterprises enabling them to increase their income.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: Emiti Nibwo Bulora

Contents page

20 21

The Trees of Hope project aims to improve the livelihoods of rural farmers in the Dowa and Neno districts of Malawi. The project coordinates community-led efforts in climate change mitigation and adaptation through agroforestry and reforestation activities, reducing the local community’s vulnerability to climate change through benefits derived from tree-based land use systems.Location• Neno and Dowa, MalawiProject Coordinator• Clinton Development InitiativeOperational since• 2007PVCs issued to date• 42,550Area of land under management• 914 ha and 16,111 x 100m segments of

boundary plantingProject Interventions• Afforestation • Reforestation • AgroforestryParticipants• 294 farmers and farmer groups (239 of which

were signed up in 2014)Project Milestones• Registered in 2011• 1st verification in 2015

Long-term sustainability drivers• Solar Drying Techniques• Diversification of income• ApicultureExamples of past & present buyers• United Bank of Carbon• COZero Pty Ltd• World Wide Web Hosting LLC• AECOM• Tuff Gong Worldwide/Ziggy Marley

Trees of Hope - Malawi

The Clinton Development Initiative established the Trees of Hope Project in 2007 in the Dowa and Neno districts of Malawi to reverse deforestation, mitigate the harmful effects of climate change, and bolster a self-sustaining marketplace by making tree farming profitable and attractive for smallholder farmers. The Trees of Hope project helps decrease the community’s vulnerability to climate change by implementing tree-based land use systems, while also providing farmers with increased income from the sale of Plan Vivo certified carbon credits. Plan Vivo supports communities in managing their natural resources by quantifying ecosystem services.Through the Trees of Hope project, rural farmers in Malawi decide how they can best address threats to their local ecosystems by choosing one of five land-use systems that addresses threats to their local ecosystem. These systems represent responsible land management strategies that benefit the environment by reducing soil erosion and increasing soil fertility.

Contact details: www.clintonfoundation.orgEmail: info@clintonfoundation.orgPhone: +1 212 348 8882

Climate Services and Land ManagementFarmers with Payments for Ecosystem Service (PES) agreements under the Plan Vivo certification are active on more than 914 hectares (woodlots, mango orchards, citrus orchards and dispersed systematic interplanting), as well as just over 16 km of boundary planting. The project has delivered more than $60,000 USD in additional income to project participants with PES agreements. Each certificate sold represents one tonne of CO2e plus additional co-benefits..

Reforestation and afforestation interventions mainly include the establishment of indigenous and naturalized tree species, including Albizia lebbek, Melia azedarach, Senna siamea and Senna spectabilis, at a density of 2,500 trees per hectare.

Upon joining the Trees of Hope project, farmers are trained and equipped with new knowledge and skills, providing them the opportunity to enhance their lives, ecosystems, and incomes. These training sessions teach them how to establish nurseries, grow seedlings, transplant them, and care for the trees during their lifetime.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Dispersed systematic interplanting involves the deliberate planting of

trees, such as Faidherbia albida, which improve soil quality and fertility by producing nitrogen compounds in their roots and increased organic matter.

• Improvement of ground water recharge systems through enhanced water filtration.

• Reduction of unexpected forest fires in the region.• Preserved or increased biodiversity.• Soil conservation, limiting erosion and water retention.

Livelihood Benefits• Income from sale of NTFPs, such as medicine and food products

(honey).• Increased availability of livestock fodder. • Sustainable charcoal production.• Improved food and nutritional security through introducing grafted fruit

trees, which fruit faster than local varieties and often produce larger, more fleshy fruit.

• Afforestation and sustainable harvesting techniques ease pressure on women, who previously had to travel long distances to collect firewood.

• Solar drying techniques to dry fruits such as mangoes that would have otherwise been wasted due to limited market access.

• Local Program Monitors (LPMs) coordinate farmers and training sessions at community level in order to deliver programs more effectively, allowing communities to take ownership of their natural resource management systems.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: Trees of Hope

Contents page

22 23

Contact details: www.carbontanzania.comEmail: info@carbontanzania.comPhone: +255 762 970 536

Climate Services and Land ManagementThe project area covers 20,790 ha of Acacia-Commiphora woodland collectively owned by the Hadza of Mongo Wa Mono and Domanga. After years of encroachment and displacement, village members created a land use plan designating the project area as protected for the utilization and cultural livelihoods of the Hadza. The Hadza are one of Tanzania’s most unique and threatened human cultures, with a deep reservoir of indigenous knowledge pertaining to natural resource use. The project is currently expanding to include another 13,000 ha under land management.The project is aiming to preserve Acacia-Commiphora woodland, and has the capacity to generate 16,011 Plan Vivo certificates a year, each representing one tonne of CO2e.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Protection of Acacica-commiphora woodland maintains

habitat for megafauna such as Elephant, Wild Dog, Lion and Cheetah as well as migratory and resident avifauna.

• Protection of megafauna is a socio-economic benefit to the Hadza who hunt large and medium size mammals sustainably; the process of hunting is an intrinsic cultural element of their society.

• Protection of interior spring systems for both pastoral communities and the Hadza.

• Increases in and sustainability of flowering plants, an important resource for the Hadza who are highly dependent on both volume and quality of honey.

Livelihood Benefits• PES payments are directly transferred into Hadza community accounts,

one for each village, known as the Jamii fund and two village accounts.• Payments are also used for legal services beyond the scope of the

project that may be required for land use enforcement.• Capacity-building in patrolling and monitoring to reduce illegal poaching

and logging.• Supporting the Hadzabe to maintain their livelihoods and indigenous

knowledge pertaining to natural resource use in a challenging environment.

• Transformative changes in the reduction of risk felt by the Hadza communities has empowered the communities and strengthened village, ward and district governance structures. From being seen as a ‘backward’ group, the value of the Hadza is being formally recognised.

• Creation of a dedicated Hadza medical fund reduces stress on the most vulnerable members and especially serves to reduce infant mortality.

The Yaeda Valley REDD+ project strengthens land tenure, management capacity and local natural resource management in two Hadzabe hunter-gatherer communities in Northern Tanzania, thereby contributing to local and international conservation aims.

Location• Mongo wa Mono and Domanga villages,

Northern TanzaniaProject Coordinator• Carbon TanzaniaOperational since• 2012PVCs issued to date• 32,022Area of land under management• 20,790 haProject Interventions• Avoided deforestation with the Hadzabe

hunter-gatherer communities by implementing land use plans within the greater landscape, creating protected zones, pastoralist zand agricultural zones. Community customary rights of occupancy (CCRO) ensure the communities own the land through titled deeds.

Participants• 2 communitiesProject Milestones• Registration in 2013• Verification due in 2018Long-term sustainability drivers• Reducing encroachment on land inhabited by

pastoral communities• Strengthening of culturally unique Hadzabe

livelihoods and land-rights• Reduction of illegal logging and poachingExamples of past & present buyers• Natural Geographic Expeditions• The Map’s Edge• Braeburn School Arusha• Fairtravel Tanzania

REDD+ in the Yaeda Valley - Tanzania

This project works with hunter-gatherer Hadza (or Hadzabe) and pastoralist communities in Mongo Wa Mono and Domanga villages. By working in conjunction with traditional leaders, elected village governments and a team of community members, Carbon Tanzania (CT) has established a results-based PES system through the sale of ex-post Plan Vivo Certificates (PVCs).

This REDD+ project strengthens land tenure, management capacity and local natural resource management, and diversifies local incomes. Successful avoided deforestation is achieved through a series of interventions including reinforcing the implementation of the approved village land use plan and associated village by-laws, improving forest conservation and management activities and addressing the primary driver of deforestation, slash and burn agriculture.The community members are trained to patrol and report any land use change and / or poaching activities which contribute to tackling illegal land intrusion and resulting land conversion at both local and district level.

The Hadzabe are one of the world’s oldest human cultures. This unique project uses innovative conservation to protect and ensure the survival of the ‘last of the first’.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: REDD+ Yaeda Valley

Contents page

24 25

Contact details: http://www.aces-org.co.uk/Email: m.huxham@napier.ac.uk Phone: +44 131 4552514

Climate Services and Land ManagementThe project will protect 107 ha of natural mangrove forest and 10 hectares of plantation. Moreover, the project plants about 4,000 additional trees per year, over a period of 20 years. The accounted carbon on 117 ha consists of both above and below ground carbon pools.The carbon benefits are conservatively estimated at 2,500 tonnes CO2e per year derived from avoided deforestation, prevented forest degradation and new planting. Apart from avoided deforestation and reforestation, the project also seeks to establish and maintain tree nurseries. The project has started small, to establish feasibility and credibility, but intends to expand the protected area to ensure increased income.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Improved protection from coastal erosion through expanded

forest cover.• Increased fauna and flora due to habitat provision and sediment

capture, resulting in higher water quality.• New Plantations help to stabilize beaches.• Habitat for wildlife species including crustaceans and commercial

fish.• Examples of fauna benefiting from mangroves include: primates

such as the Kenya Coast Galago, Rondo Bushbaby, Tana River Crested Mangabey and Baboons; charismatic bird species such as the African fish Eagle, African spoon bill, and the Fischer’s turaco; reptiles such as Green sea turtles, Loggerhead sea turtles and Hawksbill sea turtles; numerous commercial fish species and larger charismatic fishes such as Bull Shark.

Livelihood Benefits• Minimum of 40% representation by

women in the Mikoko Pamoja Community Organization.

• Reduced illegal extraction of wood in the project intervention area.

• Training and capacity-building in monitoring, nursery and woodlot maintenance.

• Sustainable forest harvesting that eases pressures on mangroves.

Mikoko Pamoja is a community-led mangrove conservation and restoration project based in southern Kenya. Its aim is to provide long-term incentives for mangrove protection and restoration through community involvement and benefit.

Location• Gazi Bay, KenyaProject Coordinator• Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services

(ACES)Operational since• 2010PVCs issued to date• 2,125Area of land under management• 117 haProject Interventions• Avoided Deforestation• ReforestationParticipants• 2 village groups (498 households)Project Milestones• Registration in 2014• Verification due in 2018Long-term sustainability drivers• Improvement of coastal ecosystems• Sustainable Management of NTFP• Additional income streams apart from

mangrove productsExamples of past & present buyers• Earthwatch Institute• Paolo Merlini• MSc Conservation Science Students 2015

Mikoko Pamoja - Kenya

Mikoko Pamoja is a community-led mangrove conservation and restoration project in Gazi Bay, Kenya. It involves community-based policing of illegal mangrove harvesting, as well as the application of local expertise in mangrove planting. Mangroves provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including coastal protection, nursery habitat for fish and water purification.Along with a wide range of associated ecological benefits including improved fisheries wildlife habitat and coastal protection, the project seeks to raise income from forest resources, including carbon credits and other income generating activities such as beekeeping and ecotourism, for community benefit.The project is managed by three groups: The Mikoko Pamoja Community Organization (MPCO) consists of representatives of Gazi Bay, specifically Gazi and Makongeni villages; The Mikoko Pamoja Steering Group (MPSG) which provides technical support to the MPCO; and the project coordinator, The Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services (ACES), a charity registered in Scotland.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: Mikoko Pamoja

Contents page

26 27

Contact details: www.envirotrade.netEmail: mail@envirotrade.netPhone: +44 77 6969 0047

Climate Services and Land ManagementThe Sofala Community Carbon project foresees the long-term sequestration of 909,857 tonnes of CO2e through the project interventions of agroforestry and avoided deforestation. Local technicians monitor the carbon potential of the project annually.The various community-led agroforestry techniques that the project is using include boundary planting, dispersed inter-planting, the planting of cashew and mango orchards, as well as homestead planting and the establishment of woodlots of native tree species. Moreover, the project runs a REDD+ conservation programme, which rewards communities for protecting blocks of standing forest from deforestation and degradation.The project has the capacity to generate 100,000 tonnes of CO2e per year. Beyond carbon payments, the project delivers many co-benefits, which positively impact the livelihoods of communities within the project intervention area.

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• The project contributes to the conservation of ecosystems in the

buffer zones of the Gorongosa and Marromeu national parks which have the highest rate of biodiversity in Mozambique.

• The Sofala Community Carbon project supports the systematic rehabilitation of community land bordering national parks.

• The project involves altering land use patterns in mashambas (areas of land “slashed and burned“ for crop planting) with indigenous Miombo woodland trees, primarily local fruit and bee-fodder species, fruit trees and other selected species along riverbanks to help stabilise the watersheds.

Livelihood Benefits• PES payments for carbon benefits on 12,000 hectares have

enabled the local community to self-fund a local school providing indoor education to children within the project boundaries.

• Communities have been trained to use better construction methods. Tin roofs were installed on houses, giving communities improved shelter and protection during the rainy season.

• Since the project’s inception, a saw mill, a carpentry shop and a clinic have been built within the project area.

• Inclusion of cash crops into farming systems to generate additional income.

The Sofala Community Carbon project is an innovative sustainability project working with forest communities in the buffer zones of Gorongosa and Marromeu National Parks in central Mozambique to improve rural livelihoods, habitat restoration, forest management and conservation of biodiversity.

Location• Gorongosa and Marromeu Park, MozambiqueProject Coordinator• Envirotrade Sofala LimitadaOperational since• 2003PVCs issued to date• 431,063Area of land under management• 12,000 haProject Interventions• Agroforestry• Avoided DeforestationParticipants• 2,799 participants• 28 community groupsProject Milestones• Registered in 2007• 1st verification: 2010• 2nd verification: 2015Long-term sustainability drivers• Dispersed inter-planting to improve

sustainability• Strong focus on capacity-building and training• Established channels for knowledge transfer

and skill sharingExamples of past & present buyers• Climate Africa• Associated Engineering• Creative Artists Agency Foundation• World Wide Web Hosting LLC• The Carbon Neutral Company

Sofala Community Carbon - Mozambique

The Sofala Community Carbon Project is developing sustainable land use and rural development activities in communities around and within the buffer zones of the Gorongosa and Marromeu National Parks in central Mozambique. The project has implemented agroforestry activities as well as interventions that result in avoided deforestation.

The project enables individuals and companies to effectively invest in new forests and agroforestry. By becoming trained crop farmers, local people contribute significantly to their own environments whilst securing regular income and stable sustainable food supply. The revival of agroforestry among impoverished communities is generating crops that enrich rather than exhaust fragile forest soils.

The project seeks to link the establishment and protection of carbon stocks to sustainable development by using some of the carbon revenues to kick-start small commercial enterprises. Moreover, the project offers protection to African wildlife.

Furthermore, the Sofala project extends farming and capacity-building to project participants, and has a strong focus on diversifying farmers’ income streams. The project trains smallholders in the sustainable farming of important cash crops which most farmers then incorporate into their plantings. This not only contributes to improving food security for themselves, but also enables them to access additional income streams. A popular Sofala cash crop option is the cashew tree which tolerates poor soils, produces edible fruits and, at maturity, can annually yield 50 pounds of cashews per tree.

By generating crops that enrich rather than exhaust the fragile forest soils and managing fire within the portions of the woodlands inhabited by rural communities, the project is giving a new lifeline to endangered plant and animal species.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: Sofala Communnity Carbon project

Contents page

28 29

ASIA

People and livelihoods Ethical climate services

Ecosystems Watersheds PES Native species

BiodiversityAdaptation

Poverty Reduction

Community Rights

Participation

Transparency Habitats

Hiniduma Bio-Link Project - Sri Lanka

Khasi Hills REDD+ Project - India

Himalayan Community Carbon Project - Nepal

30 31

Contact details: www.carbonconsultingcompany.com Email: info@carbonconsultco.comPhone: +94 117 208 208

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Introduction of 97 different tree species.

• Enhanced wildlife habitat through creation of a biodiversity link between isolated forest patches.

• Improvement of microclimate associated with trees including the provision of shading.

• Introduction of suitable tree species near watersheds help protect river basins resulting in enhanced water infiltration.

Livelihood Benefits• Woodlots provide a sustainable source of

firewood and poles to reduce pressure on forest resources.

• Income diversification through non-timber forest products, such as medicines, fruit, livestock feed and shading materials.

• Additional source of income through the introduction of beekeeping.

Climate Services and Land Management

The smallholdings are predominantly made up of tea plantations, with the remaining land cover being home gardens and remnant rainforest patches. The project has involved the planting of 94 tree species of both economic and biodiversity value. The project area for the initial phase was 18 hectares in total, which formed a contiguous corridor between Polgahakanda and Kanneliya, two patches of rainforest.

Carbon quantification is based on conservative estimates of the expected average increase in carbon stocks in above and below-ground woody biomass over 20 years. The expected sequestration potential per hectare is 152.1 tCO2e/ha after deducting a 20% risk buffer.

The ecosystem services provided by the project are sold as Plan Vivo Certificates, which represent long-term carbon sequestration. The crediting period of the project is 20 years, with future expansions of the project expected to be funded through the sale of Plan Vivo certificates.

The Hiniduma Bio-Link Project aims to conserve Sri Lanka’s last remaining rainforests, whilst addressing the pressing issues of rural poverty and climate change in a developing country. In addition to creating new employment opportunities and increased revenues for smallholders, the project delivers new jobs directly linked to the project, as well as ecosystem services, such as improved water, soil, and air quality.

Location• Galle District, SE Sri LankaProject Coordinator• Carbon Consulting CompanyOperational since• 2010PVCs issued to date• 2,767Area of land under management• 18.8 haProject Interventions• Mixed Species Reforestation with Local

Smallholders to Create Biodiversity CorridorParticipants• 32 smallholdersProject Milestones• Registered in 2012• Validation in 2012Long-term sustainability drivers• Establishment of a Biodiversity corridor

between isolated forest patches• Enhancement of Ecosystem Services• Enhancement of Local Community Livelihoods Examples of past & present buyers• Marks & Spencer• Steenbergs Organic, UK• Standard Chartered Bank

Hiniduma Bio-Link Project - Sri Lanka

The ‘Hiniduma Bio-Link’ is a project by the Carbon Consulting Company to establish a biodiversity corridor between two large remnant, vastly disturbed rainforest patches – Singharaja (UNESCO World Heritage Site) & Kanneliya (International Man and Biosphere Reserve), and to conserve buffer zones around the forest edges through reforestation.

The primary aim of this project is to reduce the pressure by local communities in the surrounding areas on the remaining rainforest patches, whilst enhancing the livelihoods of traditional communities living in close proximity to tracts of natural forest where the biodiversity is high, but under imminent threat.The project has been implemented according to Plan Vivo methodologies and has been certified to the Plan Vivo standard since July 2012. Under this system, smallholders are supported in home gardening reforestation and agroforestry using farmer-based participatory approaches. Trees are native and endemic rainforest species, as well as fruit and medicinal trees, which allow farmers to generate additional income streams. As well as native species, the project also introduces new plants to improve and support local ecosystem services. Promoting eco-friendly livelihood options such as organic farming and analog forestry, without disturbing their existing livelihood practices are also key objectives.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: Hiniduma Bio-Link project

Contents page

32 33

Contact details: http://communityforestryinternational.org/Email: tamborlyngdoh70@gmail.comPhone: +91 9863082456

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Conservation of a unique mixed evergreen cloud forest which

is rich in endangered amphibian species.

• Establishment of a biodiversity corridor linking remnant forest patches and therefore providing enhanced shelter for biodiversity.

• Protecting the Umiam river watershed with forest buffers.

• Protection of sacred groves.

Livelihood Benefits• Establishment of home-based tree seedling nurseries.

• Establishment of women-run Self-help Groups (SHGs) in charge of tree nurseries and micro-finance institutions.

• Promotion of eco-tourism to generate income for local farmers and smallholders.

• Distribution of fuel-efficient smokeless stoves to reduce dependency on firewood and increase health at household level.

Climate Services and Land ManagementThe project is significant as it is one of the first REDD+ initiatives in Asia to be developed by indigenous tribal governments on communal and clan land. It is located in the Umiam River watershed, which, despite abundant rainfall, is affected by drought and increased temperature largely due to forest loss.

The REDD+ component of the project encompasses five activities which are aimed at protecting and enhancing hydrological aspects and biodiversity, in addition to storing and sequestering carbon. These include: Advance closure, i.e. mobilizing communities to restrict access and use of degraded forests, Assisted Natural Regeneration activities, controlling forest fires, sustainable fuel wood production, and reduced fuel wood consumption by introducing fuel-efficient cook stoves.

The project has the potential to generate 26,479 Plan Vivo certificates per year, each representing one tonne of CO2e and additional co-benefits.

The Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project is India’s first community-based REDD+ programme, and will protect and restore 27,000 ha of cloud forest. The project aims to preserve sacred groves and other forest areas, including watersheds, and to re-plant surrounding land.

Location• East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya, IndiaProject Coordinator• Community Forestry International / Ka Synjuk

Ki Hima Arliang Wah UmiamOperational since• 2011PVCs issued to date• 21,805Area of land under management• 15,217 ha• REDD+: 9,270 ha Dense Forest• ANR: 5,947 ha. Open ForestProject Interventions• REDD+ • Assisted Natural RegenerationParticipants• 62 village groupsProject Milestones• Registration in 2013• Verification due in 2018Long-term sustainability drivers• Sustainable management of NTFP• Establishment of home-based tree seedling

nurseries• Moratorium on surface mines and quarries• Establishment of community micro-finance

groupsExamples of past & present buyers• Ceramica Sant’Agostino• EcoMetrica Edinburgh• TUI Nordic• Bridge Partnership• Ecometrica

Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project - India

The Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project is situated in the East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, India. It engages ten indigenous Khasi governments (hima) with 62 villages. The area was chosen on the grounds of established Khasi traditions of forest conservation and legal right for natural resource management.

This REDD+ project aims to slow, halt and reverse the loss of community forests by providing support, new technologies and financial incentives to conserve existing forests and regenerate degraded forests. The project intervention area is a global biodiversity hotspot, providing habitat to many endangered species.

Another primary objective of the project is to deliver long-term strategies to address extreme poverty facing rural families and is involved in the establishment of women-run microfinance institutions.

The Khasi Hills Community Carbon project aims to reduce deforestation and restore forests at the same time. It does so by attacking the area’s root causes of deforestation. Therefore, the project focuses on reducing the number and severity of forest fires by establishing firelines which are maintained and monitored during the fire season by local communities. To reduce fuelwood collection, fast-growing woodlots are being established near villages to cover the demand for firewood.

The project is manufacturing and installing fuel-efficient cook stoves and plans to subsidize the majority of the 5,000 households in the project area. As a result of this activity, fuelwood consumption and indoor smoke pollution will be reduced improving forest and family health.

Photo credits: Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project

Image: freevectormaps.com

Contents page

34 35

Contact details: http://www.rupantaran.org.np/Email: mail@rupantaran.org.npPhone: +44 7854 923290

Ecosystem & Biodiversity Benefits• Grazing Control resulting in reduced soil erosion and

exposure, therefore improving soil fertility.• Protection of endangered species through increased

forest cover.• Positive knock-on effects on local water quality.• Protection of the great Himalayan watershed.• Natural regeneration management and promotion of

native/local species.• Minimisation of fire hazards through fire control

mechanisms.

Livelihood Benefits• Establishment of the revolving funds to support the

poor and most vulnerable.• Establishment of small-scale local enterprises to

generate employment for poor.• Further income streams from cash crops and fruits

cultivation.• Special focus on strengthening the role of women in

communities.• Less smoke hazard and reducing workload for

women through adoption of improved cook stoves and access to forest products.

• Direct involvement and benefit to marginalised and poor community groups.

• Sustainable animal husbandry.

Climate Services and Land ManagementThe project area spans 19,122 ha and extends to 94 community forest groups in 4 districts of Nepal. Forest in the pilot sites are classified into dense, medium and sparse using Landsat images. 188 sample plots were then used to calculate actual growing stock. The total forest area covered in the eight pilot VDCs is about 19,122 ha of which 29.8% is in dense, 50.5% in medium and 19.7% in sparse condition. The present average carbon stock varies between about 34.71 tonnes/ha in the sparsest forest to about 96 tonnes/ha in the densest forests. The project is expected to generate about 259,619 tonnes of CO2e benefits over 10 years by enhancing community forest carbon stocks based on five activities: (1) Forest stock enhancing (seedling production, assisted natural regeneration, silvicultural operations), (2) Forest Protection (grazing and fire control), (3) Forest environment enhancement (soil working, erosion control), (4) livelihoods and community-based activities (support for alternative livelihoods and communal activities), (5) Capacity-building and awareness (strengthening group governance and training on forestry-related activities).

The Himalayan Community Carbon Project (HCCP) is a pilot project in Nepal developed by Rupantaran Nepal, a local NGO dedicated to assisting rural communities in developing capacities and experience to sustainably manage forests. It is a registered project with the Government of Nepal’s REDD+ cell.

Location• Dhankuta, Rupandehi, Baglung, Dang in NepalProject Coordinator• Rupantaran NepalOperational since• 2010PVCs issued to date• First issuance request (2015): 20,000Area of land under management• 16,159 ha (19,122 ha in total)Project Interventions• Enhanced Forest Carbon StockParticipants• 94 community groupsProject Milestones• Registration in 2014• Verification due in 2018Long-term sustainability drivers• Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)• Conservation of Himalayan watershed• Improves the livelihoods and capacity of the

rural people managing the forest• Replicable and extendable to other forest user

groups in NepalExamples of past & present buyers• First issuance due in mid-2015

Himalayan Community Carbon Project - Nepal

Rupantaran developed HCCP in 2010 with the aim of supporting rural communities in Nepal to engage with and benefit from international voluntary markets for ecosystem services. HCCP was set-up in line with the Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation’s Readiness Preparation Proposal (RPP) which encourages pilot projects for developing capacities and experience that could be scaled-up in future for Nepal’s REDD+ strategy. The project was developed through a transparent and participatory process involving stakeholders at all levels from central government (REDD+ Cell) to communities and households in the pilot areas. The aim of HCCP is to enhance livelihoods and reduce the vulnerability of rural communities through sustainable forest management and equitable distribution of benefits.

Image: freevectormaps.com

Photo credits: HCCP

Contents page

Projects at validation stage in 2015

36 37

The number of projects choosing Plan Vivo Certification is growing considerably. The Standard has registered 12 operational projects, which have the capacity to generate certificates. Currently an additional 24 projects are under development with approved project idea notes (PINs). A selection of validated projects likely to be certified and registered in 2015 follows:

Community-Based Agroforestry for Upper Watershed Rehabilitation, Lombok Indonesia. Location: Lombok, Indonesia. Project Coordinator: Fauna and Flora International.Activities: Rehabilitation of watershed forests through improved community based agroforestry systems. Target Registration: 2015

Community Forests for Climate, People and Wildlife, Hutan Desa Durian Rambun, Jambi. Location: Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia.Project Coordinator: Fauna and Flora International.Activities: Avoided Deforestation (REDD+) and Forest Conservation, with special focus on forest protection, regeneration and rehabilitation.Target Registration: 2015

Community Forest Ecosystem Services Indonesia, Hutan Desa Laman Satong, West Kalimantam. Location: West Kalimantan, Indonesia.Project Coordinator: Fauna and Flora International.Activities: Avoided Deforestation (REDD+) and Forest Conservation, with special focus on forest protection, regeneration and rehabilitation.Target Registration: 2015

Kolo Hills REDD+ Project.Location: Tanzania, Dodoma Region, Kondoa District.Project Coordinator: African Wildlife Foundation.Activities: Community-led management of two forest reserves and forests in 18 local villages, covering a total of 20,416 hectares. Avoided deforestation under REDD+ Target Registration: 2015

Local Trees for a Better World, Arlomon, Senegal.Location: Patako Forest, Senegal.Project Coordinator: Arlomom.Activities: Project Interventions are mainly focused on agroforestry (intercropping and boundary planting), Afforestation and Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR).Target Registration: 2015

Project pipeline

NAME

Much Kanan K’aax,Mexico

Restoration of degraded ecosystems in the Sahel, Burkina Faso.

South Choiseul Forest Carbon Project, Solomon Islands

Values and Valuation: New Approaches to Conservation in Mongolia

Nyungwe Community Carbon Scheme, Rwanda

Wonegizi Community-based REDD+ Project, Liberia

Two Worlds – One Bird, Dominican Republic

Drawa Forest Carbon Project, Fiji

Supporting sustainable land management, Sierra Leone & Guinea

Canjombe Community ES, Cela, Kwanza Sul, Angola

Bujang Raba Community PES Project,Indonesia

Payment for Ecosystem Services in the Ngoyla-Mintom forest block rural communities, N Golya Province, Cameroon

Tahiry Honko: Community Mangrove Carbon Project, Southwest Madagascar

Mousso Ta Yiri, Burkina Faso

PROJECT COORDINATOR

U’ Yool’ Ché A.C.

Ondernemers Zonder Grenzen

Live and Learn Environmental Education, Carbon Partnership

University of Leicester

Wildlife Conservation Society

Fauna & Flora International

Fundacion Loma Quita Espuela

Live and Learn Environmental Education, Carbon Partnership

Bioclimate Research & Development West Africa

COSPE

WARSI

WWF Cameroon

Blue Ventures Conservation

SocieTrees

STATUS

PDD validation TBA

PIN approved 2012

PIN approved 2013

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2014

PIN approved 2015

PIN approved 2015

PIN approved 2015

Photo: Anna Roesinger

Photo: Anna Roesinger

Photo: Anna Roesinger

Contents page

38

Improving livelihoods, restoring ecosystems

Plan Vivo

For additional copies of this brochure

or further information, please contact us at:

info@planvivofoundation.org

www.planvivo.orgPlan Vivo Foundation

Thorn House5 Rose Street

Edinburgh, EH2 2PRU.K.

Contents page