Self-identification of land tenure has been completed in Bunong villages across the project area, cementing their legal rights to their ancestral land. Land plots have been demarcated to protect against illegal land clearance by outsiders. Hundreds of community members participated in biodiversity education events. New eco-tourism spots are being scouted in the project area, but expansion has been challenging.
The project team is planning for an upcoming validation and verification of credits through regular technical meetings with the government and plans for the official integration of Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) activities. A new Master Plan was approved, highlighting the activities to be undertaken in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest between 2023 and 2027. Recent political uncertainty has shaken Peru’s economy, with negative impacts radiating to communities in the project area.
The relentless drought results in severe food insecurity for wildlife and communities in the Kasigau Corridor, mitigated by the provision of supplemental food and water by the project team and local collaborators.
The 1 billionth Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) credit was issued to the Chyulu Hills REDD+ project following the finalization of the project’s second verification. The team has been collaborating with local community members for biomass sampling and restoration of grasslands. The drought in Kenya has been very challenging, resulting in extensive food security issues and wildfire threats, mitigated in part through emergency school feeding programs and enhanced firefighting training and equipment.
Important community infrastructure has been established during the last two quarters, including a significant water well, various village roads, a series of new toilets, and new chicken coops for the Community Livestock Raising project. A recent scholarship student is excelling in his studies. Recent sightings of gibbons at three ranger stations highlight the importance and impact of the enforcement program.
Despite its protected status, the threat of deforestation from illegal logging and agricultural encroachment in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest (AMPF) remains. To deter the destruction of the forest and to provide local farmers and families with economic alternatives to deforestation, the project has established voluntary conservation agreements in partnership with communities living in and around the project zone.
The Keo Seima REDD+ Project will use carbon revenues to strengthen and expand a number of priority interventions that are strategically placed inside and outside the project area