Carbon Market for Protected Areas in Sub-Sahara Africa

Protected areas in Sub-Sahara Africa have been facing a significant loss of forest cover for decades; this trend continues despite significant national and international support. The management of protected areas typically is financed from state budgets and donor contributions. KfW currently supports approximately a hundred protected forest and savannah areas in 20 countries in the region. Public funding is expected to decline in the years to come, hence additional sources of income are urgently needed. Both volumes and prices of carbon credits on the voluntary market have been high in recent years but protected areas in Sub-Saharan Africa have barely benefited. Owing to our significant sectoral and thematic experience, KfW selected Unique to explore the options that the voluntary carbon market offers for protected areas in Sub-Saharan Africa.