Africa gets its 2nd national carbon registry

November 30, 2025

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When it works, innovation is followed by institutional structure building. That can create the trust and sense of fair access most businesses require, especially when it concerns carbon markets.

Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor

The Democratic Republic of Congo has launched the second national digital carbon registry in Africa to protect its forests. The registry uses satellite monitoring to track deforestation in the Congo Basin and a blockchain record to trace timber and other resources. This helps tackle illegal exploitation and supports compliance with sustainability standards.

  • Launched at COP30 in Belém, the registry aims to protect Congo’s vast carbon stores, over 30 billion tonnes annually, after years of carbon uncertainty that has left millions of forest communities with little share of the upside. 

  • Africa’s first registry was created by Ghana in 2022, followed by the first national REDD+ Registry, for forest-based projects only, in Kenya in July 2025.

  • Our take: Nature carbon registries solve two of the biggest challenges that have long slowed down forest protection and carbon finance on the continent: Trust and equity…Read more (2 min)

Wildlife conservation that uses community partnerships can work for people and threatened species across Africa. In an opinion article by conservation experts Fred Nelson and Rosie Cooney, they explain that supporting community-based models with sustainable financing will be a key to preserving and recovering Africa’s wildlife.

  • They write, “Conservancies and similar community-driven conservation areas are now at the forefront of making conservation work for people and wildlife. In both Namibia and Kenya, conservancies have more than doubled the total conservation estate beyond what is included within state protected areas.”

  • The authors analyse how community models have recorded success in different African countries and why more investment will be essential in scaling them.

  • Read the full Q&A…Read more (2 min)

Major gaps in data are surfacing in monitoring where and how nature is changing at the local level. This often limits conservation enforcement. In our tech watch this month, we analyse how conservationists are turning to satellites to produce consistent and locally relevant indicators to inform on-the-ground conservation decisions.

  • The latest is the expansion of a satellite-based wildfire intelligence in Africa by OroraTech and the Earth Fire Alliance to protect wildlife. Some areas of priority include Kruger National Park in South Africa among others. 

  • Global Fishing Watch and Global Forest Watch are also being used in monitoring large scale conservation areas like fishing grounds and forests.

  • Our take: Satellites are a cost-effective and efficient way to collect large-scale and consistent conservation data…Read more (2 min)

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The official handover of Amboseli national park in Kenya has happened 

Events

🗓️ Join the Conference on Sustainable Agriculture in Tanzania (November 25)

🗓️ Be at the 7th United Nations Environment Assembly in Kenya (Dec 8)

🗓️ Attend the Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Kenya (Dec 16)

Jobs

👷 Be the Design Officer at Africa Wildlife Foundation (Kenya)

👷 Join the Nature Conservancy as a the Payables Coordinator (Tanzania)

👷 Become a Marine Protected Area Monitoring Officer (Mozambique)

Various 

🌳 AI and community unite to protect the rare African golden cat

🌳 Western SA sees leopards return after 170 years

🌳 Kenya celebrates the birth of a black rhino

Seen on LinkedIn 

Simon Peter Odongo, a Conservation Expert, says, “Africa has immense agricultural potential, yet our farmers face challenges like soil degradation, climate change, and low yields which is why regenerative farming is offering a transformative solution: restoring soil health, increasing biodiversity, and boosting resilience to climate shocks.”________________