The Blue Forests Project is working with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) in upscaling the activities of Mikoko Pamoja in Vanga at the south coast of Kenya. Mikoko Pamoja is a small-scale carbon offset facility involving mangroves. Started in 2013 at Gazi bay, Mikoko Pamoja is validated by Plan Vivo Standards to sell approximately 3000 t CO2 over a crediting period of 20 years.Under the Blue Forests Project we aim to provide evidence-based experience that will support replication, upscaling and adoption of the Blue Carbon offset projects by the international community. The choice of Vanga was necessitated by the fact that the social structure as well as prevailing environmental settings of the area are similar to the ones in Gazi. In addition, mangroves in Vanga suffer similar human pressure to those in Gazi. Population pressure, poor governance, and lack of awareness are the root causes of mangrove deforestation and degradation in the pilot area.A registered community forest association (CFA) exists in Vanga that facilitates the work with the government in upscaling the mangrove carbon project. The Blue Forests Project has so far supported community consultative meetings in Vanga. This is in addition to conducting mangrove forest surveys, cover change analysis, above- and below ground carbon accounting, as well as the development of draft Project Idea Note (PIN) and Project Design Document (PDD) for the Vanga Carbon Project.By James Kairo Gitundu & Amina Juma HamzaBlue Carbon GroupKenya Marine and Fisheries Research InstituteP.O. BOX 81651, MOMBASA, KENYA
Upscaling Mikoko Pamoja
