Kenya fights carbon fraud with new REDD+ registry

From the newsletter

Kenya has launched Africa’s first REDD+ registry, a digital platform that will track, verify and manage forest carbon projects to improve transparency in carbon markets. The system is designed to close long-standing gaps in accountability, prevent double counting of emissions reductions and ensure fair benefit-sharing with forest communities.

• The registry was launched alongside the Kenya REDD+ Nesting Guidelines, which provide a framework to integrate community, private sector and government forest projects into one national system.  

• This conservation strategy is important for the rest of Africa because it is solving two of the biggest challenges that have long slowed down forest protection and carbon finance on the continent: trust and equity.

More details

• The initiative is supported by the United Kingdom Government and Conservation International under the Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions programme. Kenya becomes the first African country and only the second globally, after Indonesia, to establish such a registry.

• Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said the registry and guidelines will strengthen governance of Kenya’s forests and unlock new climate finance opportunities. “This registry and guidelines strengthen Kenya’s leadership in carbon markets and supports our shared goal of enabling people and nature to thrive together.” said British High Commissioner Neil Wigan

• The REDD+ Registry will operate in line with the Climate Change Amendment Act of 2023 and the Carbon Market Regulations of 2024. For the first two years, it will be hosted in the United Kingdom while Kenya builds its own capacity to manage the system locally. The registry will also integrate into Kenya’s forthcoming National Carbon Registry, ensuring alignment with international standards under the Paris Agreement.

• The Nesting Guidelines are intended to harmonise local and national projects while safeguarding community rights. They require equitable benefit-sharing for Indigenous Peoples and community forest associations, ensuring that revenues from carbon credits reach the people who protect forests. Key users of the system include the Ministry of Environment, the Kenya Forest Service, conservancies, Indigenous Peoples’ organisations and local forest groups.

• Across Africa, forests cover about 22% of the land and act as vital carbon sinks, storing carbon in soil and biomass while supporting millions of people. Yet they face mounting threats from farming, logging, and charcoal production. By launching the continent’s first REDD+ Registry, Kenya has introduced a transparent system to track, verify, and manage forest-based carbon credits.

• In Africa, the impact of carbon offset projects on local communities has been mixed. While some initiatives promise benefits, investigations show profits often bypass those on the ground. A joint Unearthed and SourceMaterial report found that brokers purchase credits from landowners cheaply, then sell them at up to three times the price. Middlemen profit while communities receive little, and in some cases, projects have displaced people or restricted land access.

• Kenya itself has witnessed disputes over REDD+ projects, with allegations of land grabs and poor consultation sparking backlash. Similar challenges have been reported in Uganda and Tanzania, where projects disrupted livelihoods without delivering promised benefits. The Kenya REDD+ Nesting Guidelines seek to prevent such outcomes by embedding fair benefit-sharing with Indigenous Peoples and forest communities, ensuring revenues reach those directly safeguarding forests.

Our take

• Carbon fraud has undermined Africa’s forests for years. Investigations show brokers buying credits cheaply and reselling at triple the price, while communities see little benefit. In Isiolo, courts blocked suspect carbon deals amid growing mistrust.

• Across Africa, flawed carbon projects have displaced Indigenous Peoples and restricted land access, with major controversies reported in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Parliament is now debating stricter laws to regulate environmental professionals and stamp out exploitation.

• Meanwhile, Gulf firms like Blue Carbon seek vast tracts of African land, with Emirati and Saudi buyers already spending $450 million on credits. Without strong registries, such deals risk repeating past abuses.