IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/natres/v32y2008i2p116-130.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Forestry‐based carbon sequestration projects in Africa: Potential benefits and challenges

Author

Listed:
  • Rohit Jindal
  • Brent Swallow
  • John Kerr

Abstract

Carbon sequestration through forestry and agroforestry can help mitigate global warming. For Africa, carbon sequestration also represents an opportunity to fund sustainable development through financial inflows. However, with a low share of global carbon trade, there are strong concerns that African countries are losing out on this valuable opportunity. Through a comprehensive review of 23 carbon sequestration projects across 14 countries, this paper discusses ways to overcome critical challenges to scale up carbon investments in Africa. These projects are expected to sequester 26.85 million tCO2 beyond the baseline situation. Within the continent, East Africa is the preferred destination for carbon investors. Most projects are non‐Kyoto compliant and represent voluntary emission reductions. While project benefits such as increased local incomes and improved natural resources are promising, there are concerns that conversion of grasslands into tree plantations can harm local ecosystems. Insecure land tenure constrains new investments and increases the risk that local communities will lose access to forests. Another challenge is that projects with smallholders have high transaction costs. These costs can be overcome by building strong community institutions and simplifying project guidelines. To attract more projects, African governments will need to build their capacity to identify relevant opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Rohit Jindal & Brent Swallow & John Kerr, 2008. "Forestry‐based carbon sequestration projects in Africa: Potential benefits and challenges," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 32(2), pages 116-130, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:natres:v:32:y:2008:i:2:p:116-130
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-8947.2008.00176.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-8947.2008.00176.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1477-8947.2008.00176.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karan Capoor & Philippe Ambrosi, "undated". "State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2006 : Update, January 1-September 30, 2006," World Bank Publications - Reports 13414, The World Bank Group.
    2. Swallow, Brent M. & Garrity, Dennis P. & van Noordwijk, Meine, 2001. "The effects of scales, flows and filters on property rights and collective action in watershed management," CAPRi working papers 16, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Karan Capoor & Philippe Ambrosi, "undated". "State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2006 : Update, January 1-September 30, 2006," World Bank Publications - Reports 13415, The World Bank Group.
    4. Perez, Carlos & Roncoli, Carla & Neely, Constance & Steiner, Jean L., 2007. "Can carbon sequestration markets benefit low-income producers in semi-arid Africa? Potentials and challenges," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 2-12, April.
    5. World Bank, 2005. "World Development Indicators 2005," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 12425.
    6. Zomer, Robert & Trabucco, Antonio & van Straaten, Oliver & Bossio, Deborah, 2006. "Carbon, land and water: a global analysis of the hydrologic dimensions of climate change mitigation through afforestation / reforestation," IWMI Research Reports H039281, International Water Management Institute.
    7. Karan Capoor & Philippe Ambrosi, "undated". "State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2006," World Bank Publications - Reports 13408, The World Bank Group.
    8. Karan Capoor & Philippe Ambrosi, "undated". "State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2006 : A Focus on Africa," World Bank Publications - Reports 13412, The World Bank Group.
    9. Woodhouse, Philip, 2003. "African Enclosures: A Default Mode of Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(10), pages 1705-1720, October.
    10. Karan Capoor & Philippe Ambrosi, "undated". "State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2006 : A Focus on Africa," World Bank Publications - Reports 13413, The World Bank Group.
    11. Michaelowa, Axel & Jotzo, Frank, 2005. "Transaction costs, institutional rigidities and the size of the clean development mechanism," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 511-523, March.
    12. World Bank, 2005. "World Development Indicators 2005," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 12426.
    13. Karan Capoor & Philippe Ambrosi, "undated". "State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2006," World Bank Publications - Reports 13409, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cicelin Rakotomahazo & Jacqueline Razanoelisoa & Nirinarisoa Lantoasinoro Ranivoarivelo & Gildas Georges Boleslas Todinanahary & Eulalie Ranaivoson & Mara Edouard Remanevy & Lalao Aigrette Ravaoarinor, 2021. "Community Perceptions of a Payment for Ecosystem Services Project in Southwest Madagascar: A Preliminary Study," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    2. Brownson, Katherine & Anderson, Elizabeth P. & Ferreira, Susana & Wenger, Seth & Fowler, Laurie & German, Laura, 2020. "Governance of Payments for Ecosystem Ecosystem services influences social and environmental outcomes in Costa Rica," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    3. Fisher, J.A. & Cavanagh, C.J. & Sikor, T. & Mwayafu, D.M., 2018. "Linking notions of justice and project outcomes in carbon offset forestry projects: Insights from a comparative study in Uganda," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 259-268.
    4. Vibeke Bjornlund & Henning Bjornlund & André Rooyen, 2022. "Why food insecurity persists in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of existing evidence," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(4), pages 845-864, August.
    5. Wim Carton & Adeniyi Asiyanbi & Silke Beck & Holly J. Buck & Jens F. Lund, 2020. "Negative emissions and the long history of carbon removal," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(6), November.
    6. Ogwu Stephen Obinozie & Eze Afamefuna A. & Uzoigwe Joshua C. & Orji Anthony & Maduka Anne Chinonye & Onwe Joshua Chukwuma, 2023. "Global Warming and Atmospheric Carbon: Is Carbon Sequestration a Myth or Reality?," Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series, Sciendo, vol. 33(1), pages 28-56, March.
    7. Juan Wu & Fangmiao Hou & Wenjing Yu, 2021. "The Effect of Carbon Sink Plantation Projects on Local Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis of County-Level Panel Data from Guangdong Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-19, December.
    8. Lee, Jean, 2017. "Farmer participation in a climate-smart future: Evidence from the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 72-79.
    9. Elie Hanna & María R. Felipe-Lucia & Francisco A. Comín, 2024. "Scenario Analysis of Green Infrastructure to Adapt Medium-Size Cities to Climate Change: The Case of Zaragoza, Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-23, February.
    10. Sankhulani, Linda, 2021. "Impact evaluation of conservation agriculture on smallholder farmers’ livelihood in Zambia and Tanzania," Research Theses 334762, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    11. Sébastien Costedoat & Esteve Corbera & Driss Ezzine-de-Blas & Jordi Honey-Rosés & Kathy Baylis & Miguel Angel Castillo-Santiago, 2015. "How Effective Are Biodiversity Conservation Payments in Mexico?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-20, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peter A Minang & Michael K. McCall, 2008. "Multi-Level Governance Conditions for Implementing Multilateral Environmental Agreements: The Case of CDM Forestry Readiness in Cameroon," Energy & Environment, , vol. 19(6), pages 845-860, November.
    2. Jinshan Zhu & Hui Yao & Yingkai Tang & Liyong Wang, 2015. "An econometric analysis of sub-national Clean Development Mechanism performance in China," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 20(7), pages 1137-1153, October.
    3. Hong, Jin & Guo, Xiumei & Marinova, Dora & Yang, Fengli & Yu, Wentao, 2013. "Clean development mechanism in China: Regional distribution and prospects," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 151-163.
    4. Liu, Liwei & Chen, Chuxiang & Zhao, Yufei & Zhao, Erdong, 2015. "China׳s carbon-emissions trading: Overview, challenges and future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 254-266.
    5. Charles Roger & Satishkumar Belliethathan, 2016. "Africa in the global climate change negotiations," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 91-108, February.
    6. Iordanis Angelos Kalaitzoglou & Boulis Maher Ibrahim, 2015. "Liquidity and resolution of uncertainty in the European carbon futures market," Post-Print hal-01107956, HAL.
    7. Pahle, Michael & Fan, Lin & Schill, Wolf-Peter, 2011. "How Emission Certificate Allocations Distort Fossil Investments: The German Example," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 39(4), pages 1975-1987.
    8. Heleen De Coninck & Frauke Haake & Nico Van Der Linden, 2007. "Technology transfer in the Clean Development Mechanism," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(5), pages 444-456, September.
    9. Luying Wang & Kai Su & Xuebing Jiang & Xiangbei Zhou & Zhu Yu & Zhongchao Chen & Changwen Wei & Yiming Zhang & Zhihong Liao, 2022. "Measuring Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) in Guangxi, China, from 2005 to 2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, August.
    10. Emily Tyler & Richard Chivaka, 2011. "The use of real options valuation methodology in enhancing the understanding of the impact of climate change on companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 55-70, January.
    11. Bryan, Elizabeth & Akpalu, Wisdom & Yesuf, Mahmud & Ringler, Claudia, 2008. "Global carbon markets: Are there opportunities for Sub-Saharan Africa?," IFPRI discussion papers 832, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Kalaitzoglou, Iordanis Angelos & Ibrahim, Boulis Maher, 2015. "Liquidity and resolution of uncertainty in the European carbon futures market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 89-102.
    13. Stefan Schleicher & Claudia Kettner-Marx & Angela Köppl & Barbara Anzinger & Bernhard Cemper & Andreas Türk & Andreas Karner, 2011. "Analysis of Options to Move Beyond 20 Percent Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions. Background and Evaluation of Impact Documents," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41607.
    14. Lucas M Z Mendes & Georgina Santos, 2008. "Using Economic Instruments to Address Emissions from Air Transport in the European Union," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(1), pages 189-209, January.
    15. Gorecki, Paul K. & Lyons, Sean & Tol, Richard S.J., 2010. "EU climate change policy 2013-2020: Using the Clean Development Mechanism more effectively in the non-EU-ETS Sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7466-7475, November.
    16. Thomas L. Vollrath & Mark J. Gehlhar & Charles B. Hallahan, 2009. "Bilateral Import Protection, Free Trade Agreements, and Other Factors Influencing Trade Flows in Agriculture and Clothing," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 298-317, June.
    17. Simplice A. Asongu, 2014. "Knowledge Economy and Financial Sector Competition in African Countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 333-346, June.
    18. Sylvester Ngome Chisika & Chunho Yeom, 2021. "Enhancing Sustainable Management of Public Natural Forests Through Public Private Partnerships in Kenya," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, October.
    19. Ahmet Faruk AYSAN & Mustapha Kamel NABLI & Marie‐Ange VÉGANZONÈS‐VAROUDAKIS, 2007. "Governance Institutions And Private Investment: An Application To The Middle East And North Africa," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 45(3), pages 339-377, September.
    20. SangHyun Cheon & Dong-Wook Song & Sungjin Park, 2018. "Does more competition result in better port performance?," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 20(3), pages 433-455, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:natres:v:32:y:2008:i:2:p:116-130. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1477-8947 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.