Agnes Nailantei remembers a time when life was easier in Kenya\u2019s Chyulu Hills.<\/p>\n
Nailantei comes from a long line of Maasai pastoralists who thrived in this region north of Mount Kilimanjaro, where rolling ridges stretch from cloud forests to savanna grasslands.\n<\/p>\n
“The land provided. We never wanted for pasture; after harvests our granaries were full to the brim with maize and beans,\u201d Nailantei, 29, recalled of her childhood. \u201cThe rains were good and even a small plot was enough to feed your family
\nand pay for your children\u2019s school.”<\/p>\n
But changes set in motion decades ago gradually began to take their toll: Communal lands had been privatized, and roads and railways brought an influx of settlers, straining the region\u2019s resources.\n<\/p>\n
Climate-driven droughts delivered additional blows \u2014 decimating livestock and slashing farmers\u2019 incomes. Desperate families chopped trees for charcoal and poached wildlife for meat. As agriculture expanded, unsustainable practices transformed
\n the land; cycles of slash-and-burn farming eroded the soil.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people lost three-quarters of their livestock during one drought,\u201d Nailantei said. \u201cI remember the schools started to empty because families couldn\u2019t pay the fees.”<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/temp\/ci_30268704_cropped?&auto=compress&auto=format&fit=crop?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
Herding cattle in Chyulu Hills. \u00a9 Ami Vitale<\/h6>\nA new investment in people and nature<\/span><\/h3>\nChyulu Hills was on the brink \u2014 and with no sources of long-term funding to protect and restore its forests and grasslands, a coalition of environmental organizations, government agencies and local communities turned to nature itself for a solution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn 2017, Conservation International and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust led the launch of a forest carbon project to generate funds to prevent deforestation, and support the livelihoods and well-being of local communities.<\/p>\n
The initiative flips the script on market forces that have historically placed a higher value on forests when they are dead than alive. With forest carbon projects, companies or individuals looking to reduce their carbon pollution can buy and trade forest-based
\n carbon credits to offset a portion of their emissions. Revenues from these credits \u2014 each of which represents one metric ton of avoided emissions \u2014 are then invested in communities as an incentive to restore their forests and stop deforestation,
\n the second-leading cause of climate change after fossil fuel use.<\/p>\n
Initially, some communities there were skeptical. But improvements in schools, health clinics and other initiatives funded by the sale of carbon credits convinced families that protecting the forests could bring long-term benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nailantei, who now leads community outreach for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, saw this change firsthand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the credits started to produce tangible benefits that communities could see, that\u2019s when it started clicking in people\u2019s minds,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople started believing in the project. They felt a sense of ownership over
\n it.”\n<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_60751832_full?&auto=compress&auto=format&fit=crop?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
Chyulu Hills harbors Kenya’s largest elephant population.
\n \u00a9 Charlie Shoemaker<\/h6>\nNature pays for its own protection<\/h3>\n
Today, the forest carbon project spans 410,000 hectares (one million acres) and prevents the release of 580,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually \u2014 that\u2019s the equivalent of taking 830,000 gas-powered cars off the road over the past
\n six years. Over its 30-year lifetime, the project is expected to prevent at least 18 million metric tons of climate-warming carbon from entering the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
And while reducing carbon emissions to stem climate change is a global win, the project\u2019s local benefits are equally profound. Carbon revenues funded an emergency school food program during a recent drought, ensuring children don\u2019t go hungry.
\n They\u2019ve improved village health services, making it safer for women to give birth closer to home. And they have even provided scholarships for the neediest families, in some cases covering the entire cost of students\u2019 secondary education.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a project for local people, by local people,\u201d said Seif Hamisi, who leads Conservation International\u2019s initiatives in Kenya. \u201cIt\u2019s producing measurable benefits for nature and the climate, but perhaps most strikingly
\n for the health and well-being of families that are facing the impacts of a changing climate.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_67225029_full?&auto=compress&auto=format&fit=crop?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
The forests of Chyulu Hills inspired Ernest Hemingway\u2019s
\n \u201cGreen Hills of Africa.\u201d \u00a9 Charlie Shoemaker<\/h6>\nPower to the people\u00a0<\/h3>\n
Perhaps the project\u2019s most striking feature is its governance \u2014 it is owned and managed by nine local groups, including four Indigenous communities that make all decisions on how carbon revenues are spent. Their mission is clear: to invest
\n in education, health care and new job opportunities that will improve families\u2019 well-being, while alleviating the economic pressures that drive deforestation.<\/p>\n
The steady stream of revenue from the sale of carbon credits has been \u201ctransformational,\u201d said Andrey Arutyunyan, a manager for the carbon project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, NGOs or other organizations have often come in and tried to tell communities what they need,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is different. Carbon revenues provide sustainable funding for improvements that address the communities\u2019
\n priorities.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision power sits with them,\u201d Arutyunyan added. \u201cThey use the funding as they see fit. It creates an incentive to align everyone toward long-term goals and think strategically \u2014 not just for one year, but multiple years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back to school<\/h3>\n
Education has seen some of the biggest gains from the carbon project.<\/p>\n
In Chyulu Hills, families grapple with dilapidated schools and crowded classrooms where 70 students might share fewer than 15 desks. Over the years, communities have used the carbon revenues to fix infrastructure at five primary schools \u2014 erecting
\n new fencing to keep elephants out, building latrines and staff housing, and installing solar panels, water tanks and an electric pump. In 2022, after project leads consulted with the Rombo community, the carbon revenues funded 250 new desks across
\n five primary schools and built a classroom to replace one lost to fire.<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_87141725_full?&auto=compress&auto=format&fit=crop?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
Carbon revenues help fix school buildings and fund scholarships.
\n \u00a9 Charlie Shoemaker<\/h6>\n
A recent drought worsened school dropout rates as families were forced to move in search of pasture and water for livestock. To prevent dropouts and boost household budgets, the forest carbon project stepped in with scholarships for some of the neediest
\n families. Since 2019, these scholarships have covered school fees for nearly 4,000 children, with about 150 graduating with their entire secondary education paid for by carbon credit revenues.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn education committee made up of local leaders chooses families that are very needy \u2014 families that are missing a parent, facing extreme economic hardship, or struggling with HIV or another ailment,\u201d Nailantei said. \u201cThe scholarships
\n pay for kids\u2019 schooling. That\u2019s a help for entire families, because money that would have been invested in school fees can be used elsewhere.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
For John Kiburu Musau, a single father of three, keeping his two sons and young daughter in school was an ongoing balancing act. With no steady job, he scraped by. When his daughter, Lucy, received a scholarship funded by carbon revenues it meant he didn\u2019t
\n have to choose which of his children to send to school.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just struggling, wanting the children to study, but getting overwhelmed,\u201d Kiburu Musau said. \u201cSometimes you hear [other parents say], \u2018Let the boys study, this [girl] will get married.\u2019 I didn’t have those thoughts;
\n I just struggled for her to continue.”<\/p>\n
\n
Chyulu Hills was on the brink \u2014 and with no sources of long-term funding to protect and restore its forests and grasslands, a coalition of environmental organizations, government agencies and local communities turned to nature itself for a solution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2017, Conservation International and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust led the launch of a forest carbon project to generate funds to prevent deforestation, and support the livelihoods and well-being of local communities.<\/p>\n The initiative flips the script on market forces that have historically placed a higher value on forests when they are dead than alive. With forest carbon projects, companies or individuals looking to reduce their carbon pollution can buy and trade forest-based Initially, some communities there were skeptical. But improvements in schools, health clinics and other initiatives funded by the sale of carbon credits convinced families that protecting the forests could bring long-term benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nailantei, who now leads community outreach for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, saw this change firsthand.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the credits started to produce tangible benefits that communities could see, that\u2019s when it started clicking in people\u2019s minds,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople started believing in the project. They felt a sense of ownership over Today, the forest carbon project spans 410,000 hectares (one million acres) and prevents the release of 580,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually \u2014 that\u2019s the equivalent of taking 830,000 gas-powered cars off the road over the past And while reducing carbon emissions to stem climate change is a global win, the project\u2019s local benefits are equally profound. Carbon revenues funded an emergency school food program during a recent drought, ensuring children don\u2019t go hungry. \u201cThis is a project for local people, by local people,\u201d said Seif Hamisi, who leads Conservation International\u2019s initiatives in Kenya. \u201cIt\u2019s producing measurable benefits for nature and the climate, but perhaps most strikingly Perhaps the project\u2019s most striking feature is its governance \u2014 it is owned and managed by nine local groups, including four Indigenous communities that make all decisions on how carbon revenues are spent. Their mission is clear: to invest The steady stream of revenue from the sale of carbon credits has been \u201ctransformational,\u201d said Andrey Arutyunyan, a manager for the carbon project.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, NGOs or other organizations have often come in and tried to tell communities what they need,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is different. Carbon revenues provide sustainable funding for improvements that address the communities\u2019 \u201cThe decision power sits with them,\u201d Arutyunyan added. \u201cThey use the funding as they see fit. It creates an incentive to align everyone toward long-term goals and think strategically \u2014 not just for one year, but multiple years.\u201d<\/p>\n Education has seen some of the biggest gains from the carbon project.<\/p>\n In Chyulu Hills, families grapple with dilapidated schools and crowded classrooms where 70 students might share fewer than 15 desks. Over the years, communities have used the carbon revenues to fix infrastructure at five primary schools \u2014 erecting A recent drought worsened school dropout rates as families were forced to move in search of pasture and water for livestock. To prevent dropouts and boost household budgets, the forest carbon project stepped in with scholarships for some of the neediest \u201cAn education committee made up of local leaders chooses families that are very needy \u2014 families that are missing a parent, facing extreme economic hardship, or struggling with HIV or another ailment,\u201d Nailantei said. \u201cThe scholarships For John Kiburu Musau, a single father of three, keeping his two sons and young daughter in school was an ongoing balancing act. With no steady job, he scraped by. When his daughter, Lucy, received a scholarship funded by carbon revenues it meant he didn\u2019t \u201cI was just struggling, wanting the children to study, but getting overwhelmed,\u201d Kiburu Musau said. \u201cSometimes you hear [other parents say], \u2018Let the boys study, this [girl] will get married.\u2019 I didn’t have those thoughts;
\n carbon credits to offset a portion of their emissions. Revenues from these credits \u2014 each of which represents one metric ton of avoided emissions \u2014 are then invested in communities as an incentive to restore their forests and stop deforestation,
\n the second-leading cause of climate change after fossil fuel use.<\/p>\n
\n it.”\n<\/p>\n
\n \u00a9 Charlie Shoemaker<\/h6>\nNature pays for its own protection<\/h3>\n
\n six years. Over its 30-year lifetime, the project is expected to prevent at least 18 million metric tons of climate-warming carbon from entering the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\n They\u2019ve improved village health services, making it safer for women to give birth closer to home. And they have even provided scholarships for the neediest families, in some cases covering the entire cost of students\u2019 secondary education.<\/p>\n
\n for the health and well-being of families that are facing the impacts of a changing climate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n \u201cGreen Hills of Africa.\u201d \u00a9 Charlie Shoemaker<\/h6>\nPower to the people\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\n in education, health care and new job opportunities that will improve families\u2019 well-being, while alleviating the economic pressures that drive deforestation.<\/p>\n
\n priorities.\u201d\n<\/p>\nBack to school<\/h3>\n
\n new fencing to keep elephants out, building latrines and staff housing, and installing solar panels, water tanks and an electric pump. In 2022, after project leads consulted with the Rombo community, the carbon revenues funded 250 new desks across
\n five primary schools and built a classroom to replace one lost to fire.<\/p>\n
\n \u00a9 Charlie Shoemaker<\/h6>\n
\n families. Since 2019, these scholarships have covered school fees for nearly 4,000 children, with about 150 graduating with their entire secondary education paid for by carbon credit revenues.<\/p>\n
\n pay for kids\u2019 schooling. That\u2019s a help for entire families, because money that would have been invested in school fees can be used elsewhere.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n have to choose which of his children to send to school.\n<\/p>\n
\n I just struggled for her to continue.”<\/p>\n