MoU on carbon projects boosts community welfare

Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Blue Carbon, for the development of carbon projects, has put in place community welfare and sustainable development as the main focus along with mitigation activities.

The MOU was signed under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.

The partnership envisages a conservation agreement that will commit Blue Carbon to developing nature-based solution projects in the agriculture, forestry and other land use sector on around 7,5 million hectares of Zimbabwean forest.

Identified project sites will undergo a rigorous due diligence process ensuring the full eligibility of the project areas for conservation activities. In a statement, Blue Carbon said the collaboration with Zimbabwe strives to ensure a perpetual stream of ecological and communal benefits while mitigating climate change, in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

“To ensure the utmost integrity of the intended carbon projects, Blue Carbon has integrated an inclusive community engagement strategy into the project design,” the company said.

“The voices and needs of communities will steer the trajectory of the carbon project initiatives. Accordingly, Blue Carbon will abide by all relevant Zimbabwean community laws and kick-off project planning with a comprehensive “Free Prior Informed Consent” process.

“This process guarantees that the project’s trajectory is firmly guided by the collective decisions of the communities and ensures that project activities will proceed only after the communities provide the consent. Blue Carbon’s community engagement strategy will be further achieved through multi-layered national stakeholder consultations.”

Blue Carbon said another hallmark of the project design was the formulation of an all-encompassing Livelihood Sustainability Plan that emphasises the economic and social prosperity of Zimbabwean communities nestled within the project areas.

“This entails a multi-pronged approach that ensures the delivery of economic and social growth opportunities along with ecological conservation and emissions mitigation,” the company said.