One of the main focuses among African countries is reforestation. Due to a massive deforestation that occurs among many African communities, leaders are now looking into the social and economic benefits reforestation efforts can bring.

1. Developing a sustainable economy in Africa through
reforestation
humphreykariukindegwa.webs.com /apps/blog/show/42149208-developing-a-sustainable-economy-in-
africa-through-reforestation
One of the main focuses among
African countries is reforestation. Due
to a massive deforestation that occurs
among many African communities,
leaders are now looking into the social
and economic benefits reforestation
efforts can bring.
According to a World Bank report,
international carbon markets can help
boost economic progress among poor
and rural African communities through
reforestation. Reforestation projects
do not just mitigate the harmful effects
of an environmental decline; they will
also improve rural livelihoods.
It was November of 2006 when the first Afforestation / Reforestation project was registered in China. Up
until 2011, 27 countries have already registered in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, with four coming from Africa.
If we are going to look at the records from the Democratic Republic of Congo, approximately 1.6 million
tonnes of carbon dioxide is predicted to be collected through the Ibi Batéké reforestation project. The
range will be between 2008 and 2037. Through a company named Novacel, the Batéké region is said to
be benefiting from the schemes being implemented by the CDM or Clean Development Mechanism which
is a part of the Kyoto Protocol. Through the reforestation process, the company was able to employ more
or less 400 full time and part time employees back in 2011. Novacel makes profit by producing wood fuel to
be sold to Kinshasa. The company also infiltrates the global carbon market by selling carbon credits. A
healthcare clinic and a primary school have been built in 2011 using the income generated from the
Reforestation project.
With the support coming from World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund or BioCF, a large scale reforestation project
has also been developed in the Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley – a development which also seeks to be scaled
up.
A very good example in which African communities should replicate is the A/R (Afforestation /
Reforestation) project that is being developed in Moldova. With the support coming from BioCarbon Fund,
2 reforestation projects allowed local farmers to restore 30,000 hectares of degraded lands. Jobs have
been created for locals with these projects. Other than the economic benefits, the country was also able to
lower down its greenhouse gas emissions that will help them generate more carbon credits that are

2. considered to be carbon market tradable units.
In today’s world, we really need to be creative. We need to think of different solutions to a problem that will
be beneficial to all. In this context, we have leaders trying to mitigate the harmful effects of global warming
while profiting from it at the same time. If the schemes at hand will develop even further, we will not only
enjoy a sustainable economy, we will also be able to experience a healthy environment at the same time.
Humphrey Kariuki Ndegwa is an African business figure most known for his petroleum conglomerate,
Dalbit International. What remains unknown to most people, however, is that Humphrey is also very vocal
about his advocacy for sustainable agriculture and energy.