The first half of 2021 has been filled with exciting opportunities for growth and prosperity at the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary. With significant funding from the sale of Verified Emissions Reductions, the Keo Seima REDD+ Project is working on an ambitious strategy to scale its forest conservation and community development initiatives, has developed financial guidelines to streamline communities’ use of the REDD+ benefit sharing funds, and has had the success of another Community Protected Area for a Bunong Indigenous village approved.
During the first half of 2021, support for key project initiatives continued despite challenges posed by pandemic restrictions. Support includes funding the Rangers program to maintain patrolling, collecting data and securing operations; supporting livelihood development by issuing and delivering new beehives; disbursing bursaries and scholarships for students in the Rombo and Eastern communities; and making significant investments in a critical fire management plan ahead of the dry season, providing firefighting training to over 300 Rangers (200 community and 100 Kenya Wildlife Service Rangers).
In the middle of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peruvian people struggled to survive as their economy and health services literally collapsed. In spite of this, the Alto Mayo project team continued supporting its community, including: the COOPBAM cooperative, subscribers of the conservation agreements, surveillance committees and any individuals who reached out for help during this difficult time. In the midst of economic unrest, the project’s initiatives have flourished.
The Southern Cardamom REDD+ project has intensified efforts to improve local infrastructure in the project area, provide financial assistance in response to COVID-19, and help secure land rights through demarcation. The Project has focused on helping communities by providing tangible public benefits, which in turn increases people’s understanding of how keeping the forest standing benefits them directly.
Small and large-scale projects are continuing to bring transformative benefits to communities throughout the project area during the first half of 2021, touching the lives of the entire community. Through the Carbon Trust and Locational Carbon Committees, large investments in water projects have been made and significant developments in community income generation activities have continued to prosper, having a meaningful, positive impact on community livelihoods. While these activities continue to flourish, the lack of rain and COVID-pressures are straining resources. These pressures have resulted in competition for resources and increased human-wildlife conflict, livestock incursions and poaching. The project team is working to resolve these challenges through focused community engagement, an illustration of the dynamic, adaptive management capacity that strong REDD+ projects can bring to support forest communities.
Unlike the Covid-19 challenges that educators, students and families faced this last year, the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project has seen continued investment and progress in educating local community members.
Fish have been a traditional and primary source of food and essential nutrients for communities surrounding Lake Mai- Ndombe. For decades, the lake was teeming with fish caught by local fishermen.
Defending the traditional rights of Indigenous Bunong people by securing community land titles is a core conservation strategy of the Keo Seima REDD+ project.
Resilience and adaptive management in the face of COVID: The project’s key stakeholders – conservation agreement signatories, the protected area coffee cooperative, rangers, and technicians – continue to be supported by the project, and have found a way to maintain the implementation of crucial field activities.