Mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, saltwater marshes – these and other ‘blue forests’ are vital to coastal and island communities around the world
Over 5,000 tonnes of atmospheric carbon emissions are mitigated annually
Mitigation of
climate change
The Blue Forests Project includes two project sites in Kenya, the first is Mikoko Pamoja located in Gazi Bay and the second is Vanga Blue Forest, located in nearby Vanga Bay on the border with Tanzania. Both are community-based mangrove carbon finance projects certified through the Plan Vivo standard, and Mikoko Pamoja is the world’s first successful coastal 'blue carbon’ project, selling carbon credits with payments supporting mangrove conservation and restoration activities. Through the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, this project is part of the UNEP/GEF Blue Forests Project and has been replicated and upscaled in Kenya and Madagascar.
This page is an overview of the Mikoko Pamoja and Vanga Blue Forest projects. For an in-depth version of the Kenya case study, click here.
Kenya
Community-based blue carbon offsets conserve mangroves through the sale of carbon credits at two project sites in Kenya.
The aim of these voluntary carbon market projects is to provide long-term incentives for mangrove protection and restoration through community involvement and benefit sharing. Click each pathway icon for more information.
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems have the potential to annually capture 0.5%-2% of the atmospheric carbon emitted globally.
Mitigating
climate change
Kenya
Kenya
360 Sii Island
Timelapse Gazi River Mouth - Kenya
Introduction to the Kenya 360 Virtual Tour
360 Gazi Aramco Restoration Site
Carbon-offset initiatives require a scientific basis to determine carbon stocks and emission baselines, which is achieved through scientific collaboration. Carbon baselines are assessed using approved IPCC methodologies and other protocols.
Approximately one-third of the carbon income is invested in projects with local benefit. This has included education and clean water supply through the purchase of textbooks, sports uniforms, and other learning materials for 700 children and building of freshwater wells.
Both local and national policy was needed to implement the VCM projects community association and Participatory Forestry Management Plan.
To promote awareness and a general understanding of the local and global significance of mangrove ecosystem to the local communities, various stakeholder engagement forums were held during the inception, development, and implementation of the projects.
Vanga Bay
Located on the border with Tanzania, Vanga Bay is the location of the Vanga Blue Forest project, a community-led mangrove conservation and restoration project. It was developed when the community of Vanga, Jimbo and Kiwegu villages saw the benefits that its sister project, Mikoko Pamoja, has brought to local people and the environment.
Gazi Bay
Located around 30 miles south of Mombasa, Kenya, Gazi Bay is the location of Mikoko Pamoja, a community-led mangrove conservation and restoration project based in southern Kenya, and the world's first blue carbon project. Its aim is to provide long-term incentives for mangrove protection and restoration through community involvement and benefit. Through this project, which was founded in 2013, the sale of carbon credits supports both the conservation and restoration of 117 hectares of local mangrove forest. The profit from also supports community development projects such as provision of schoolbooks, construction of school buildings and clean drinking water. This project is currently exploring how to include seagrass carbon in the voluntary carbon market.
Its aim is to provide long-term incentives for mangrove protection and restoration through community involvement and benefit. This project aims to protect an area of 460 hectares of mangroves and improve the livelihoods of 9,000 people in three villages. As 2020 was their first year of operation, Vanga Blue Forest generating ex-post credits, 2021 is the first year of the sale of carbon credits. Plans for the sale of carbon credits include using the finance to improve local capacity in forest management and local companies in beekeeping, ecotourism and crab farming.
Facts at a Glance
Carbon Benefits
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Gazi Bay: 2,500 tonnes per year
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Vanga Bay: 5,347 tonnes per year (expected)
Community Benefits
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Gazi Bay: 5,400 project beneficiaries
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Vanga Bay: 13,546 project beneficiaries
Project Locations
What are the key pathways
to reach these goals?
What are the goals of the
Mikoko Pamoja and Vanga Blue Forest
projects?