Papariko: Mangrove reforestation in Kenya. People at the heart of the project

This is a series of posts where we are sharing our experience of certifying a mangrove restoration project at Verra. Our site in Kwale County, Kenya, has recently been visited by independent auditors and we have already briefly explained the validation procedure and the importance of having the right partners on the ground.

Let’s talk about the most important people in the project — the local communities who live on the frontline of climate change.

Stewards of the forest

At Vlinder, we strongly believe that the only way to make a reforestation project sustainable for the long term is to have it co-owned by the community. This is why we always work closely with the people living in the project area and share our carbon revenue with local stakeholders.

Our partners on the ground, the Kenya Forest Service helped us reach out to the Community Forest Associations and all people living in the project area long before the actual planting was scheduled, and we started shaping the mangrove restoration effort with them. Our partner Umita arranged meetings with people from the local villages to talk through all the details: why mangroves are important for the area, how the project will be carried out, how the community will be involved, what is important for them and in what ways they will benefit from the forest restoration.

A woman from the local community checking on newly planted mangroves

For Vlinder as a project developer, it is crucial to have the community ownership and support of the reforestation project, their participation at all stages and an understanding of how it will change their lives for the better. For Verra as a voluntary carbon standard, it is also important that carbon projects collaborate with people living in the area, do no harm and create benefits. It is also very important that the people are aware of the benefit sharing they will receive and feel integrated in the project. This is why the independent auditors from KBS Certification Services had long meetings with the community representatives talking about the Papariko project.

Our KBS auditors Shilpa Swarnim and Martin Luther King interviewing the community

Improving lives

Mangrove restoration in Africa and Asia not only mitigates climate change: it comes with considerable social co-benefits helping improve the lives of vulnerable coastal communities. Papariko contributes to multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals, and No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth are among them.

This Kenyan mangrove project alone creates hundreds of new jobs and new income opportunities. All the planting and monitoring are done by community people. They get funding and assistance to set up new activities. In Kwale, those are planned to be growing high-value crops like mangoes and cashews, planting Casuarina forests for construction and exploring beekeeping and ecotourism.

Community people monitoring the recently planted plots

Women have full participation and equal opportunity for leadership. More than 50% of positions are filled by women, and all the seedlings are bought from local nurseries run by women’s community-based organizations.

Through regular training and workshops, the village people, including women, young people and people from poor households, get an education and upskilling.

Respecting indigenous knowledge

The communities living in the Papariko project area have taken care of the forest around their villages for ages. They have a lot of indigenous knowledge about mangroves. We acknowledge their right to participate fully, discussing all the planned project activities with them and consulting them in the areas where they have tremendous expertise.

Robin Bartmann from Vlinder meeting Hassan, a local planting calendar and seedling expert

For example, we rely on their knowledge when choosing areas for reforestation. The local people help the Kenya Forest Service experts and our consultant Dr. Michael Njoroge Githaiga from Embu University in Nairobi, to identify the right sites and confirm that the areas we chose were previously covered with mangroves but were damaged by overharvesting or natural causes. They also advise us on native species and planting techniques and times.

Communication is key

Robin and the Suggestion Box on the wall of the Papariko office in Kwale

To make sure we hear the community and their needs and regularly communicate with them, we have set up Steering Committees formed by representatives of all the villages and local community organizations. They are the spokespersons of the community voicing their suggestions, concerns and complaints.

There are also special Suggestion Boxes in the village where local people can drop notes with their feedback and grievances, which can also be anonymous.

Shilpa Swarnim (KBS), Camilla Werl (Vlinder) and Mwaka Mwamadi (Umita) in the new outfits presented by local people

In-person meetings, talking, eating and having fun also help greatly. This is when songs are sung, friends are made, the project team and the auditors get memorable gifts, and international food is shared by everyone.

Feasting on pizza together after long days of work

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Vlinder is a climate tech company that plants mangroves and reinforces climate projects with early funding and innovation. Vlinder’s goal is to enable carbon mitigation of 10 million tons of CO2 every month, the combined footprint of Switzerland and Austria.