Following the United Nations’s REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) framework, the Kariba project subscribes to the highest standards for sustainable management of forests.
An economic alternative to deforestation
By providing for the livelihoods of locals, the Kariba project provides an economic alternative to clearing the land for cultivation, firewood and poles.
Community and sustainability
The project’s Community and Project Sustainability Fund is structured to benefit whole communities, specifically the poorest members of society. The fund will be used to improve health and education in the project area with its long-term activities.
Promoting a rebound in wildlife populations
The project area is an important wildlife area, showing significant populations of African elephants, lions, impalas, hippos, buffalo, leopard and crocodiles, along with a wide variety of birds, including the IUCN red list vulnerable species Southern Ground Hornbill, Lappet-faced Vulture, and White-headed Vulture.
The Kariba forest preservation project is located in northwestern Zimbabwe, partly along the southern shore of Lake Kariba, the largest artificial lake in the world by volume. As a project following the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) framework, it subscribes to the highest standards for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
The project area of 784,987 hectares of forest (consisting of woodland and open woodland) spans four Zimbabwean provinces: Matabeleland North, Midlands, Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central. The project is community-based and consists of implementation of activities in conjunction with the local population, administered by four Rural District Councils (RDCs): Binga, Nyaminyami, Hurungwe and Mbire.
The project is expected to generate more than 196 million greenhouse gas emission reductions over 30 years, sequestered in above- and below-ground living tree and non-tree biomass, standing deadwood, and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) during its lifetime.
The reduction in deforestation will be achieved through a series of activities that are designed to significantly improve the livelihoods of locals, such as improved agriculture, beekeeping, fuelwood plantations and fire management. In addition, a significant share of the project’s carbon income will be invested in general activities that promote and guarantee project sustainability. The project’s Community and Project Sustainability Fund is structured to benefit whole communities, specifically the poorest members of society. In the absence of active protection that creates sustainable economic alternatives for communities, the land in the project area would be cleared for non-sustainable alternative land-use scenarios.
The project area lies within the Zambezian biome of the Zambezi basin. The major ecosystem includes Mopane and Miombo woodland. The project area is an important wildlife area, showing significant populations of African elephants, lions, impalas, hippos, buffalo, leopard and crocodiles, along with a wide variety of birds, including the IUCN red list vulnerable species Southern Ground Hornbill, Lappet-faced Vulture, and White-headed Vulture.
