Big shake-up for nature-based carbon credit markets

From the newsletter

Conservation partners in East Africa have launched a manual for developing nature-based carbon projects at the second Africa Climate Summit. This is a first attempt to harmonise carbon laws regionally in Africa. The manual outlines detailed requirements for achieving credible and highly valuable credits that can benefit both the conservation sector and communities.

• There are widespread concerns that most African nature-based carbon credits are not clear on integrity and revenue sharing, a situation that undermines the growth of the conservation finance mechanism and community benefits sharing.

• The Eastern Africa NbS Project Development Manual was developed by Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative and partners. It promotes high-integrity, fair credits through transparent benefit-sharing plans, open-source satellite and mobile monitoring, mandatory informed consent processes and market strategies. 

More details

• The manual, released and published on 10th September 2025, addresses concerns over quality and fairness in carbon credit markets with key guidelines on the production of high-integrity carbon credits. Project developers must show their projects really reduce emissions, that the benefits will last, that no extra damage is caused elsewhere and that they legally own the carbon rights. All the projects must be monitored to track both carbon and non-carbon indicators through field plots and remote sensing, with all results subject to independent validation.

• Use of technology in monitoring lowers costs and improves credibility. The manual recommends open-source satellite imagery, remote sensing, field plots and mobile data collection for measuring outcomes. Mobile data collection tools make reporting faster and more accurate. For monitoring to be effective, the manual stresses the need to train local communities to carry out the monitoring and outlines clear monitoring protocols to guide what data is collected, how, how often and storage.

• There is a full section on monetising credits and utilising them to advance conservation goals. Developers are mandated to check carefully if projects are realistic and price credits high enough to cover costs and long-term monitoring. Both sides, the seller and the buyer, must also check each other’s financial stability and past track record before signing deals.

• The manual emphasises clear ways to involve communities. Developers must consult the locals and prove they obtained Free, Prior and Informed Consent, meaning communities are fully informed in advance, in local languages and agree before activities start. Developers must also show how projects will improve livelihoods, include women and vulnerable groups, protect biodiversity, share revenues fairly and provide clear ways to raise complaints.

• The manual brings together national carbon market rules from across East Africa. These include Kenya’s Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations, 2024, Uganda’s Climate Change Mechanisms Regulations, 2025, Tanzania’s Environmental Management (Control and Management of Carbon Trading) Regulations with later amendments and Rwanda’s National Carbon Market Framework. Combining them gives developers one clear reference for registering projects under different national systems.

• To help projects sell credits internationally, the manual consolidates recognised standards such as Verra, Gold Standard, Plan Vivo and ART-TREES. Developers are advised to hire validation and verification bodies early, since there are few available worldwide. The manual also allows projects to validate design documents and verify monitoring reports at the same time, speeding up the first issuance of credits.

Our take

• Africa’s carbon market has faced criticism for weak standards. Many projects issued credits without proving they truly reduced emission or whether nearby areas saw increased deforestation.

• Developers must now prove ownership of carbon assets, while assessing leakage risks. Mandating validation and verification before credits are issued, the manual tackles long-standing issues in transparency and accountability.