1
CARBON TRADING PILOT INITIATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSERVATION TRUST OF UGANDA Byamukama
Biryahwaho, Sam Korutaro Alice
Ruhweza Presented at the Session on International
Focus on the Science of Inventory, Observations,
Measurement, and Monitoring Third USDA Symposium
on Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration in
Agriculture and Forestry March 22-24, 2005
Baltimore, Maryland
2
Background

• Uganda Forestry Sector Review Process recommended
  measures to encourage investment in forestry
  activities among others-
• -Private sector involvement in tree planting
• - Favorable tax regulations for overseas
  developers
• -Long term land leases for tree planting on govt
  land
• -Permits to grow trees in forest reserves
• -Carbon Trading Financing Mechanism provided for
  under UNFCCC/Kyoto - CDM

3
THE INITIATIVE

• ECOTRUST in partnership with other
  institutions has been implementing a pilot
  carbon trading scheme.
• The scheme supports small landholder farmers in
  Bushenyi District to plant trees for carbon
  sequestration.
• Implementation approach is a learning by doing
• The project addresses climate change,
  environment conservation and poverty issues.

4
Why Carbon Trade?

• Land use based carbon trade contributes to
• ECOTRUSTs conservation objectives in particular
  the
• one that aims at promoting private land
  management for
• biodiversity conservation
• Trees for timber, firewood etc.
• Soil improvement associated with trees on farm
• Biodiversity values increase on-farm tree
  diversity.
• Nature based enterprises e.g bee keeping
• Positive effects on microclimate climate
  climate change mitigation.

5
Project objectives

• Overall objective was to develop and
  operationalise a model for carbon trading with
  small scale land owners operational in Uganda.
• Institutional and technical capacity of
  participating institutions for implement carbon
  projects enhanced.
• Creation of baseline data for
  agroforesrty/forestry activities.
• Criteria and indicators for forestry projects
  developed.
• An institutional structure for administration
  of land use, land cover and forestry projects
  for carbon trading established.
• Technical specifications for different forestry
  systems developed and tested.

6
Partner Roles in project execution

• ECOTRUST
• Project coordinator and fund administrator.
• Maintaining a project-scale database
• Issuing certificates and administering carbon
  payments
• Conducting monitoring and evaluations of
  Planting plans.
• Exploring possible funding sources.
• Entering into sale agreements with farmers
• Documentation and reporting 

7
Partner Roles in project execution contd

• CARE
• Selection of farmers
• Conducting social/economic assessment
• Registering farmers
• Guiding Farmers to draw up Planting plans
• Assisting in initiating seed collecting and
  nursery operations.
• Note These functions are now carried out by
  ECOTRUST since January 2004.

8
Partner Roles in project execution contd

• ICRAF / FORRI / NBS
• Definition of the selected forestry/agro-forest
  ry systems
• Specification of tree management requirements
  
• Definition of baseline biomass conditions
• Compilation of biomass data for specified
  forestry systems

9
Partner Roles in project execution contd

• Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM).
• Assist with carbon modeling and carbon
• baseline specification.
• Train partners in carbon accounting,
  establishment of database, Plan Vivo
  documentation and general system support.
• Provide guidelines for project implementation.
• Marketing of carbon,
• Provide any technical backstopping

10
Achievements registered

• Capacity for the implementation of carbon
  trade projects has been established.
• An institutional framework for administering
  carbon sales has been established
• Technical specifications of selected tree
  species have been developed more to be
  developed yet.
• A participatory monitoring framework has been
  developed

11
Achievements contd

• Over 100 farmers have been registered
• about 40 have already received first
  payment.
• Tree seedlings have been raised and farmers have
  planted Some farmers are running tree
  nurseries as business
• Carbon buyers have been identified and have
  entered additional sales are under negotiation.
  
• Additional funds have been leveraged for
  conducting a regional baseline will help in
  expansion

12
On going/FutureActivities

• Received funds from START to work on specs for
  different species and different planting regimes
  woodlots, boundary plantations, mixed species
  under agroforestry -data collection is underway
• Development of database of farmers capturing
  household set up and linking client info to
  buyer is underway
• Streamline monitoring plan and build farmer
  capacity to conduct monitoring.
• Development of additional marketing tools and
  establishing links with additional carbon buyers
• Expand program portfolio beyond tree planting
  to energy and waste management.
• Scaling up program beyond Bushenyi district

13
Challenges

• Negotiations in carbon trade and ensuring there
  is a fair deal Power dynamics ensuring power
  balance
• Ensure that the farmers have control over the
  activity. Likewise ECOTRUST be the driver and
  have support from partners
• Participation in research and global negotiations
  in relation to climate change activities.
• Clarify right from the start land and tree
  products ownership by farmers
• Developing frame work of agreements, which are
  flexible and versatile to respond to global
  climate change debate.
• Capacity building among farmers and partners to
  respond to changes as a result of the shift in
  climate change debate

14
Lessons learned

• Carbon trade transactions need considerable
  investments - time resources to accomplish.
• It is important that roles of different players
  are well negotiated and documented from the
  start prefer a legal instrument (MoU?).
• It is important to develop systems that are
  appropriate to the local conditions technical
  specifications and institutional framework.
• Carbon trade can bring in resources that will
  help poor farmers meet their development goals.
  

15
Lessons learned contd

• Policies and procedures to guide the private
  sector and NGOs in carbon transactions will ease
  work.
• Continuous capacity building is important for
  NGOs that intend to get involved in carbon
  trade.
• Both NGOs and government should complement
  one another government activities - NGOs are
  better placed to implement o the ground.
• Carbon trading requires long-term commitment on
  behalf of the NGO and should never be
  implemented under a project of short duration.