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Ottichilo: Carbon trading deals risk exploiting local communities

Ottichilo: Carbon trading deals risk exploiting local communities
Vihiga Governor Dr Wilber Ottichilo. PHOTO/Print

Kenyans in the North Rift and northeastern regions face deepening poverty as they enter unfavourable carbon trading agreements with multinational companies.

Large farmland areas are being converted to exotic-tree plantations for carbon credits, displacing food production while offering minimal benefits to landowners. 

Vihiga Governor Dr Wilber Ottichilo, who chairs the Environment, Forestry and Climate Change committee on the Council of Governors, warned that current carbon trading activities are illegal.  

Foreign companies are earning billions while local communities receive negligible compensation and face deteriorating living conditions. 

“The people these foreign multinationals are engaging don’t understand the market intricacies,” Ottichilo said during a two-day climate meeting in Nairobi. “Kenyans are negotiating from ignorance.” 

Before Kenya’s Climate Change Amendment Act of 2023, no laws regulated carbon markets. For 15-20 years, voluntary carbon markets allowed companies to engage communities directly through leaders, often without proper explanation of contract terms. 

Communities in pastoral lands, particularly northern rangelands, discovered their monetary proceeds fell far short of promises. They also learned their land would face regulatory restrictions for nearly 30 years.

Many communities realised that agreements heavily favoured foreign companies after signing. 

The government responded by establishing regulations through Parliament, the Ministry of Environment, and the Council of Governors.

The environment watchdog NEMA now oversees carbon market projects and registration processes. 

Despite new regulations, 500 North Rift farmers from Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, Nandi, Baringo, and West Pokot recently partnered with a global agroforestry organisation for tree-planting initiatives.

While farmers anticipate wealth from carbon credits, Ottichilo maintains these ventures violate current law. 

The Northern Kenya Rangeland Carbon Project exemplifies these problems.

Originally designed as the world’s largest soil carbon removal project, it aimed to store 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over 30 years while rewarding communities for improving their land’s carbon storage capacity. 

However, the project faced setbacks when carbon credit certifier Verra placed it under review twice, prohibiting credit sales.

In January, the Environment and Land Court ruled that two conservancies tied to the Northern Rangelands Trust were established illegally without adequate public participation. 

Ottichilo urged African nations to develop homegrown solutions to prevent exploitation, warning that without careful oversight, communities could end up worse off than before.  

He emphasised the need for Kenyans to understand carbon markets before more land is converted to ventures that primarily benefit foreign investors rather than local communities. 

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