The Zambezi Delta Community Carbon sub-Project

The Zambezi Delta Community Carbon sub-Project was established in 2008 as the Cheringoma Community Carbon Project, and is the second operating component of Envirotrade’s Sofala Community Carbon Project.

The Delta of the Zambezi River in Mozambique is an extensive swamp that forms a triangle of around 12,000 Km2. It starts in the confluence of the Zambezi and Shire rivers and extends 120 Km down to the Indian Ocean. It also extends 200 Km along the coastline, is limited by the Morrumbala escarpment in the North West while at south it includes the extensive Cheringoma escarpment. To the south-east, the Delta includes the two Forest Reserves Nhampakué and Inhamitanga and is mostly made of the Marromeu Complex, a 6,880 Km2 Ramsar site that includes the Special Buffalo Reserve of Marromeu.

A coordinated response

A grouping of governmental, non-governmental and other institutions led by WWF and the Mozambique Government have joined together to develop a coordinated response to the considerable environmental threats that face the Delta and its people. Poverty and environmental degradation in the Delta are strategic issues for Mozambique because of the links to the hydro-electric generation project at Cahora Bassa Dam on the Zambezi River and the survival of Mozambique’s strategic prawn industry along the coast.

Envirotrade is collaborating with partners in this area to address poverty and unsustainable resource utilisation in the communities surrounding the Nhampakué and Inhamitanga Forest Reserves in the Marromeu Complex through its Carbon Livelihoods Programme. This programme is a replication of the pilot project which has been successful in bringing significant revenue from the sale of carbon offsets to the Nhambita and other communities in the buffer zone of the nearby Gorongosa National Park from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) activities.

Forest regeneration

The project is establishing local nurseries for the propagation of indigenous trees for reforestation and forest rehabilitation, fruit and other agroforestry activities and deploying extension staff to transform agricultural practices amongst communities practising slash and burn agriculture. Envirotrade and local communities are introducing a forest management programme for community forests to assist conservation and a fire management programme to ensure regeneration of forest and a decrease in burning in the affected areas.

Future security

The Envirotrade Carbon Livelihoods Programme is bringing revenues from the sale of carbon offsets to both individual participants in the project in annual payments and to a community trust fund that will finance the development of infrastructure in the community such as schools and health posts and will continue to fund extension support for agriculture and pay for fire management activities over an extended period of time. Conservation of the neighbouring Nhampakué and Inhamitanga Forest Reserves and the Special Buffalo Reserve of Marromeu is directly linked to the development of sustainable resource management in the communities living around them. The Carbon Livelihoods Programme will play an important role in conserving these resources.

You can find various reports on the Carbon Livelihoods projects in our Resources