PRESS RELEASE Lusaka
14 March 2025
The Barotse Royal Establishment officially launches the Kafue Zambezi Community Forest Project, driving sustainable conservation and community impact forward.
For the past four years, the Government of Zambia and the Barotse Royal Establishment, together with BioCarbon Partners and Peace Parks Foundation, have been working in the Western Province of Zambia to develop a large-scale community forest carbon protection project. The forests in this region provide extremely important ecosystem services upon which the communities, and the world at large depend.
“This project will see immediate benefits start to flow to the community. Already, a number of community-elected forest management groups have been set up. As official custodians of the forests, these committees will lead the governance and delivery of social impact schemes and livelihood initiatives that BioCarbon Partners and Peace Parks will bring.” says Honourable Ngambela of Western Province, Manyando Mukela.
The Kafue-Zambezi Community Forest Carbon Project was designed as part of a larger REDD+ project with the potential to scale up into multiple provinces in Zambia. The project targets a significant part of the Kavango Zambezi transboundary landscape. The aim is to enhance the conservation of the forest catchment areas of the Zambezi and Kafue rivers and the continuous wildlife corridors between Kafue and Sioma Ngwezi national parks.
“Peace Parks has been supporting the establishment and development of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area since 2004, the largest formally established terrestrial transboundary landscape in the world. Core to the success of this initiative is to achieve co-existence between local communities and the natural resources they depend on for their livelihoods. This project will enable 280,000 people to develop alternate and sustainable livelihoods and, by 2028, conserve a targeted 1.9 million hectares of indigenous forest,” says Peace Parks Foundation CEO Werner Myburgh.
The Western Province of Zambia, also known as Barotseland, is edged by the Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi River. Away from the Zambezi and its tributaries, the landscape is a gently undulating series of hot fossil sand dunes, seasonal swamps, dry grasslands, and most importantly, patches of Teak and Mavunda forest, and Miombo woodlands.
The communities living in this landscape depend on the forests for firewood, charcoal production, curio carving, building materials, farming infrastructure, furniture and logging for export to the commercial timber market. Hunters burn the forest to flush the wildlife and to generate fresh growth, which in turn attracts animals. With over one million people living in this province, the pressure on the forests is immense and they are at serious risk of being lost.
“We decided to embark on this collaborative journey following the success of the Luangwa Community Forest Project (LCFP), Zambia’s first large-scale community forest programme in Eastern province. Protecting the world’s terrestrial capital is crucial for addressing climate change. Deforestation is a real problem that requires real solutions. The signing of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Barotse Royal Establishment and Peace Parks on 13th March is great cause for celebration as after four years of groundwork, the project implementation partners are ready to actively engage with communities around alternative livelihood programmes,” says Biocarbon Partners CEO, Nic Mudaly.
This is a project implemented at chiefdom level, with the chiefs and communities giving BioCarbon Partners the rights to develop and trade carbon credits on the voluntary market based on the principles of promoting a conservation-based economy. The process is founded on the commitment that the communities will be supported and involved. The goals of the proposed Project are to assist communities to diversify incomes, while protecting its rich biodiversity.
“These communities cannot afford to wait for too long to see and feel tangible results, so our partners pay it forward by investing in this area before any money has been generated,” says Honourable Ngambela of Western Province, Manyando Mukela.
The benefit-sharing mechanism lines are very clear with regards to who gets what upfront, it is vital that the community know what to expect. The Community Forest Management Groups are fundamental to the verification and success of REDD+ projects because they will manage the revenue allocated from the sale of carbon credits for their respective chiefdoms.
“The success of this project will not only improve the lives of the people living in the landscape today, but also secure the forests for many generations to come,” said Honourable Ngambela of Western Province, Manyando Mukela on the signing.
