REDD+ – Kariba, Zimbabwe

The project area is nearly 785,000 ha of forest (mopane and miombo woodland) in northwestern Zimbabwe and lies within the Zambezian biome of the Zambezi basin

Historically, the area supported significant populations of wildlife which supported a variety of tourism and safari activities.  Recent economic and political crises led to a decrease in tourism, an increase in poaching and reductions in agricultural productivity directly impacted the 70% of the population that makes a living from agriculture

Food shortages create pressure on forests as well as unproductive lands, with an average of 327,000 ha lost each year between 1990 and 2010

The main causes of deforestation are socio-economic (subsistence agriculture, firewood collection and poaching activities) and the growth of settlements

Without carbon revenues, there is no significant income to offset the cost of undertaking activities to mitigate deforestation

The project leads to the protection of both unlogged and previously logged forest that has the regenerative capacity to reach a mature, ‘old growth’ state

It is community-based and consists of activities significantly improving the livelihoods of locals, such as

• improved agriculture (conservation agriculture, high value crops, community gardens, training)
• beekeeping,(hives, processing, marketing, workshops)
• fuelwood plantations (sustainably managed plantations, agroforestry with Moringa)
• fire management (firebreaks established and maintained , “cold fires” controlled burns undertaken)
• indigenous knowledge systems (knowledge documented, shared and recognised, non-timber forest products, training)

In the absence of active protection that creates sustainable economic alternatives for communities, the land in the project area will be cleared for non-sustainable alternative land-use scenarios

Better agriculture practices increases farmers’ food supply and coupled with changes to the type of cash crops grown (away from tobacco), helps reduce land clearing for firewood and farmland while improving the local community’s living conditions

The project has made investments into beekeeping for sustainable honey which helps grow the local economy

The project promotes the Hydraform technology, which creates interlocking blocks/ bricks from a mixture of soil, water and cement using hydraulic compression.  It is an alternative to wood and burned clay bricks as it requires less wood resources and as it run by the local youth, it is creating new opportunities to generate income

It is helping to develop and improve the quality of, and access to, both education and health services

The project area is an important wildlife area, with significant populations of mammals, reptiles and birds, including elephants, lions, impalas, hippos, buffalo, leopard and crocodiles

It also contains a wide variety of birds including IUCN red list vulnerable species Southern Ground Hornbill, Lappet-faced Vulture and White-headed Vulture

Anti-poaching measures have been created to protect these species, creating employment