Project/Juridiction proponent

Project/Juridiction Partners

Project characteristics

• ID-RECCO ID
  413
• Project status 2022
  Legacy information for jurisdictional program - no longer updated
• Project name
  Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program for Co-Managed Protected Areas, Malawi
• Secondary name
  Kulera REDD Program Malawi
• Country
  Malawi
• Last IDRECCO update year
  2020
• Size (in hectare)
  169136
• Start year
  ND
• End year
  2039
• Duration
  30
• Project description
  Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program for Co-Managed Protected Areas in Malawi was developed within the framework of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Kulera Biodiversity Project (KBP). Malawi is the poorest country on earth and a landscape-based REDD+ approach that works directly through community association is the most dependable path for conservation based sustainable development. The REDD program areas are located in a five kilometer zone inside the boundaries of three key protected areas in central and northern Malawi: Nyika National Park, Vwaza Wildlife Reserve, and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. These parks are under increasing pressure of encroachment from local populations, which has exacerbated deforestation and forest degradation rates along the borders of the protected zones. The overall goals of the Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program are to reduce deforestation and degradation in these select protected areas, and to improve livelihoods by managing natural resources as an asset base to capture long-term economic benefits. The project proponents, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), the Nyika-Vwaza Association (NVA), the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve Association (NAWIRA), and Terra partnered with a Malawi-based NGO, Total LandCare, to prepare this REDD+ program and generate Verified Emission Reductions (VER). The project is now selling VERs to continually fund conservation efforts in conjunction with livelihood improvements for successful climate, community and biodiversity benefits in a win, win, win situation. One of the principal objectives of the project is to improve understanding of co-management agreements for protected areas and build the capacity of community associations to carry out program management and enforcement activities. In addition, within the five kilometer buffer zone surrounding each protected area, the project has introduced a number of livelihood improvements designed to provide alternative income sources, improve food security, and reduce pressures on natural resources. These programs include agricultural improvements through crop diversification, improved varieties and new interventions, planting woodlots on degraded lands, using improved cook stoves, and improving management and areas of community forests. Community Benefits Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program for Co-Managed Protected Areas targets over 65,000 households (350,000 people) living in rural communities in the border zone of the project protected areas. Most households are characterized by dire poverty, undertaking practices that are destructive to the resources upon which their livelihoods depend. In addition, many communities have limited access to support services because they reside in remote areas with poor roads and infrastructure. The level of community involvement is decided through a consultative participatory process based on defined criteria, which include assessments of resources, capabilities and interest, as well as the type and level of support needed. The entry point to identify beneficiaries begins with the leadership structure of communities and villages and established Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) associations falling within the management zones of each protected area. In all cases, gender factors are taken into account to ensure participation and support of women, as well as youth. Given that many households are directly or indirectly affected by HIV/AIDs, the project ensures that interventions encompass opportunities to target these households. Special efforts are being made to target households engaged in illegal exploitation of reserve resources with the aim to understand and address this behavior by providing alternative solutions. Biodiversity Benefits Malawi’s protected areas are a primary concern of the Government. Between 1972 and 2005, Malawi’s forest cover was cut in half from increasing demands for farmland and fuelwood. Until recentl
• Objective 1
  biodiversity conservation
• Objective 2
  social development
• Objective 3
  climate
• Deforestation drivers
  charcoal production, energy wood, fire, illegal logging, Transient agriculture
• Type of forest
  other
• Project activity
  jurisdictional/landscape|REDD
• Project Type
  Jurisdictional/landscape
• Details for Afforestation/Reforestation activity
  NA
• Multiple locations?
  Yes
• Jurisdiction level 1
  Region : Northern, Central
• Jurisdiction level 2
  Districts: Rumphi, Nikahata Bay, Mzimba, Nkhotakota

Carbon accounting

• Crediting period
  2009-2039
• Period to calculate annual carbon credits
• Annual carbon credits
• Total carbon credits
  7468935
• Leakage is expected?
  no
• Carbon pools included
  Above ground biomass | Below ground biomass | Dead wood | Soil organic carbon
• Gasses included
  ND
• Reference period start year
  1998
• Reference period end year
  2009
• Carbon standard 1
  CCB

Carbon certification

• Carbon standard 1 Progress
  certified
• Carbon standard 1 Publication date
  44166
• Carbon standard 1 Weblinks
  https://registry.verra.org/mymodule/ProjectDoc/Project_ViewFile.asp?FileID=52716&IDKEY=sq934lkmsad39asjdkfj90qlkalsdkngaf98ulkandDfdvDdfhd72695364
• Carbon standard 1 Expiry date
  ND
• Carbon standard 2
  VCS
• Carbon standard 2 Progress
  certified
• Carbon standard 2 Publication date
  41823
• Carbon standard 2 Weblinks
  https://registry.verra.org/mymodule/ProjectDoc/Project_ViewFile.asp?FileID=35895&IDKEY=f0e98hfalksuf098fnsdalfkjfoijmn4309JLKJFjlaksjfla9i49499205
• Carbon standard 2 Expiry date
  ND
• Carbon standard 3
  none
• Carbon standard 3 Progress
  ND
• Carbon standard 3 Publication date
  ND
• Carbon standard 3 Weblinks
  ND
• Carbon standard 3 Expiry date
  ND
• Source of information
  http://www.terraglobalcapital.com/kulera-landscape-redd-program-co-managed-protected-areas-malawi; http://www.forestcarbonportal.com/project/Kulera-REDD-Program-Malawi; http://www.terraglobalcapital.com/kulera-biodiversity-project-malawi (not accessible as of September 2020); http://www.terraglobalcapital.com/news/kulera-landscape-redd-program-completes-verfication-emission-reductions; https://registry.verra.org/app/projectDetail/VCS/1168; http://www.climate-standards.org/2013/11/05/kulera-landscape-redd-project-for-co-managed-protected-areas-malawi/

Community level intervention

• Any monetary benefits?
  Yes
• Monetary benefit type
  Unclear
• Monetary benefit detail
  Direct cash: All partners agree on a yearly budget to carry out the program activities and interventions. Each partner requests the quarterly budget, and advances and liquidation of advances are sent and spent according to UDAID Policy. Employment: Based on budget projections over the 30-year life of the Project, direct support for community forest protection and restoration will ―employ‖ an estimated 50 full-time equivalent people annually from local communities, including Community Association officers, and support local DNPW officers and DNPW Administration.
• Provides employment?
  Yes
• Are there non-cash benefits?
  Yes
• Economic activities - type
  agriculture | agroforestry | ecotourism | fuel efficient stoves | NTFP
• Is there tenure clarification?
  Yes
• Is there environmental education?
  Yes
• Is there forest access restriction or control/monitoring of deforestation?
  Yes
• Is there forest enhancement?
  Yes
• Is there community infrastracture improvement?
  No
• Is there other community benefits?
  Yes