Standing with Communities in Carbon Projects

Namati works alongside communities to protect their rights and decision-making power in carbon projects.

Since 2012, we have supported Indigenous and local communities to know, use, and shape the law—an approach called legal empowerment—to protect community lands and the environment. Today, many of those same communities are being approached by carbon project developers.

These projects often use forests, wetlands, and grasslands to generate carbon credits, which represent the amount of greenhouse gas kept out of the atmosphere. Carbon credits are a tool meant to fight climate change while creating income for communities. However, in practice, communities often face the same challenges they have experienced with other large land deals, such as a lack of clear information, unfair terms, and decisions made without their consent.

We work to change that.

Namati and our partners ensure that communities have a voice in shaping carbon projects and the policies that govern them. Our work is guided by two core commitments:

• Communities decide: We help communities understand carbon projects and make informed choices. If a community asks for our support, we respond. They decide whether to participate in a project and on what terms. We don’t promote or oppose a project. The choice is theirs. 
• Rights and equity come first. We help communities protect land rights and secure fair deals. That means engaging with carbon project developers, government officials, and global carbon markets—challenging when necessary, collaborating when strategic. 

This is part of our ongoing work to ensure the robust implementation of two landmark laws that recognize community rights: the Kenya Community Land Act of 2016 and the Customary Land Rights Act of 2022 in Sierra Leone.