{"id":133029,"date":"2025-11-13T13:46:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T13:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/133029\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T13:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T13:46:07","slug":"zimbabwes-forest-and-energy-projects-reveal-the-downside-of-carbon-credits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/133029\/","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe\u2019s forest and energy projects reveal the downside of carbon credits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carbon offsets<\/a> are a way for companies or countries that pollute the air to \u201ccancel out\u201d some of their carbon emissions by funding projects that protect forests, plant trees, or provide clean energy \u2013 sometimes on the other side of the world. Polluting companies in the US, Europe, Asia or elsewhere can buy one carbon credit<\/a> from a green project anywhere in exchange for emitting one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO\u2082). But do these projects benefit the African countries that host them? Rural development researcher Fadzai Chipato studied two carbon offset projects in Zimbabwe. Her research found<\/a> that these projects can negatively affect local communities.<\/p>\n

What carbon offset projects are happening in Zimbabwe?<\/p>\n

In Zimbabwe, carbon offsetting began around 2011 with the Kariba REDD+<\/a> (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries) project. <\/p>\n

It was run by a Zimbabwean company, Carbon Green Africa<\/a>, which leased 758,000 hectares of degraded forest from four local councils in northern Zimbabwe where forest could be regrown for the purpose of selling carbon credits.<\/p>\n

The company aimed to work with local communities to halt deforestation through conservation farming<\/a> \u2013 protecting the soil by not digging in it and planting a variety of crops. They also funded nutrition gardens and beekeeping projects, and provided biogas digesters<\/a> and fuel-efficient stoves to reduce the number of trees cut down for firewood.<\/p>\n

Read more:
\n Models aren’t a panacea for saving the environment: hard lessons from REDD+<\/a><\/p>\n

Many families benefited through food, education, and extra income. However, the projects were run from the top down. Decisions were made by investors, the government, and rural district councils. Local villagers had very little say.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Zimbabwe passed a new carbon trading law<\/a>. This required all carbon projects to be registered with the government<\/a> and pay 30% of revenues to the state. The Kariba REDD+<\/a> was stopped, leaving villagers unsure<\/a> whether their gardens, beekeeping, and clean energy projects would continue.<\/p>\n

Read more:
\n Climate change projects aren’t working because communities are left out<\/a><\/p>\n

The second project I studied is the Cicada Holdings Project<\/a>, which aimed to plant 100 million indigenous trees over 30 years and give out 120,000 cookstoves that use less firewood. <\/p>\n

Unlike Kariba, Cicada worked more closely with local farmers and by December 2025, it had given out 160,000 environmentally friendly stoves. However, it was also slowed down by the new law, with the government taking more than 18 months to process new registrations.<\/p>\n

Are they working?<\/p>\n

On the positive side, the Kariba project<\/a> set up 24 community gardens, including seven school gardens, that provided 3,000 people directly or indirectly with food. One garden generated enough income to support 10 orphans.<\/p>\n

The community gardens have improved my family\u2019s quality of life. I managed to pay my daughter\u2019s school fees and buy household supplies.<\/p>\n

New conservation farming<\/a> methods were introduced. Maize, and two nutritious crops that are fairly drought resistant \u2013 sorghum and millet \u2013 were grown. Beekeeping in the forests was also introduced. As farmers said:<\/p>\n

We learned about innovative agriculture practices to improve our yields, which were low due to the low rainfall. We now experience better harvests, improving our food sustenance and even selling excess crops, generating financial income.<\/p>\n

Beyond forest preservation, beekeeping provides additional income for farmers and serves as a rich source of food for humans, thereby improving community livelihoods.<\/p>\n

The Kariba REDD+ project also built biogas digesters<\/a> at hospitals to generate clean energy from dung. Local villagers could sell cattle dung to these projects in exchange for medical treatments and cash.<\/p>\n

Cicada\u2019s clean cookstoves reduced smoke-related illnesses and had other benefits:<\/p>\n

The stoves are very helpful; we are no longer collecting firewood, which was getting difficult to find.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, my research revealed<\/a> that many communities were excluded from decision-making. Some only found out about projects in their villages through the media. Local politicians were also unhappy when projects were put on ice after the new law introduced stringent registration requirements:<\/p>\n

We were shocked when the project was stopped, saying the government was not involved. We asked ourselves, aren\u2019t Rural District Councils part of the government?<\/p>\n

A further problem was that project funds went through many intermediary brokers, councils and non-governmental organisations. Villagers never knew how much money the carbon credits were generating or how it was spent. This lack of transparency caused mistrust. <\/p>\n

Overall, my research found that<\/a> carbon offsets in Zimbabwe have not been neutral tools. They are political and economic processes that reshape who controls land, who benefits, and who is left out. Because they restrict traditional access to forests, firewood and grazing land, these projects create \u201cvirtual dispossession\u201d.<\/p>\n

Read more:
\n Climate change: Africa has a major new carbon market initiative – what you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n

For example, people were stopped from collecting firewood, grazing cattle, or making bricks in forest areas that had always been communal land. Women and youth who earned a living from the forests were badly affected by having fewer rights to use their land.<\/p>\n

This mirrors<\/a> wider patterns across Africa, where communal land that supports households is redefined as \u201cunderutilised\u201d and given over global carbon markets, often without fair consultation with the people using the land. <\/p>\n

What should global powers do to make carbon offsetting just and sustainable?<\/p>\n

To make carbon offsetting fairer in Zimbabwe and the global south, several measures are needed:<\/p>\n

Global climate conferences, including this year\u2019s COP30<\/a>, must find ways to guarantee that the benefits from carbon markets are shared fairly so that rural communities in countries like Zimbabwe are not sidelined. <\/p>\n

COP30<\/a> should also fulfil the promises of climate finance for Africa<\/a> made at COP29<\/a> in 2024. They also need to set up ways for climate funds to reach communities affected by climate disasters.<\/p>\n

Read more:
\n COP29 failed Africa \u2013 what went wrong with the climate financing bid and what happens next<\/a><\/p>\n

Communities need secure rights to their land and forests so they aren\u2019t pushed aside when forests are turned into carbon projects. They must be consulted and give consent before projects begin. <\/p>\n

Carbon credit money should be clearly tracked and given to communities, where women and young people should also play leadership roles. <\/p>\n

Governments and companies must be held accountable, and communities must be able to challenge broken promises. Projects should also protect food security, traditions and survival, not just focus on cutting carbon. <\/p>\n

Without these changes, carbon offsetting risks becoming another form of \u201cgreen grabbing\u201d that takes land and resources from Indigenous people who have used them for centuries in the name of climate change adaptation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carbon offsets are a way for companies or countries that pollute the air to \u201ccancel out\u201d some of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,111,139,69,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-133029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}