Introduction
For many Indigenous Peoples and local communities in East Africa, the promise of fair and equitable carbon markets has remained out of reach. Historic exclusion and a lack of safeguards have too often left vulnerable groups on the sidelines, with little say in how benefits are shared. Middlemen take the profit: brokers often buy carbon credits from landowners at low prices and sell them to buyers at a much higher price, leaving communities with little of the revenue generated.
The Expert Deployment Mechanism – Canada’s Climate Action Africa (EDM-CAA) is working with partners to change that story. Guided by international principles like Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, and the UNFCCC Cancun Safeguards[1] to respect the rights of local communities, new conversations are possible with guidelines and knowledge that ensure that carbon trading respects community rights, protects livelihoods, and amplifies local voices. This work, requested by the Africa Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, is part of a broader movement to put human rights at the heart of climate action. Learn more about the EDM-CAA project here.
Safeguarding Rights in Carbon Trading: Defending Indigenous Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa
Context
Forest Carbon markets or market mechanisms as defined under Article 6 of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement can be part of the solution to protect natural resources through results-based climate finance payments, but only if the rights of those who depend on and live in forest areas are duly recognized and protected. Currently, there is no internationally accepted definition of carbon rights, and very few countries have adopted definitions in their national legal systems. As it concerns the right to trade carbon, right to own land/land tenure or forest resources, carbon rights need to be determined by legislative and/or contractual arrangements. Countries in East Africa are looking at markets to access climate finance to support sustainable management of forest resources whilst enhancing benefits from the forests regarding development and livelihoods of vulnerable communities. However, ongoing experiences have shown that carbon projects have violated the rights of vulnerable communities, many of whom have not been included in discussions on what carbon projects are and, as such, do not understand their rights and responsibilities. There are cases where some communities have lost their land.[2](To protect the participants of this workshop, we did not share names or photos.)
By Deb Ingersoll, Oxfam Facilitator and Sekai Ngarize, EDM-CAA Climate Forestry Advisor
In recent years, carbon trading has emerged as a powerful tool in the global effort to combat climate change. By allowing countries and companies to offset their emissions through investment in forests, wetlands, and other carbon sinks, these markets hold real promise for protecting the environment. But beneath the surface lies a complicated truth: for Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, the rapid growth of carbon markets can also bring new risks.
Without proper safeguards, communities that have lived for generations in harmony with their lands are at risk of being pushed aside, their rights overlooked, and their voices ignored in the name of “climate action.” This is why a growing number of human rights defenders, legal advocates, and grassroots leaders are working tirelessly—often at great personal risk—to ensure that carbon trading agreements protect rather than exploit vulnerable communities.
Article 6.1 of the Paris Agreement[1] outlines cooperative approaches, including market and non-market mechanisms, to help countries achieve their climate goals. However, as carbon markets expand, especially across borders, there is a growing need for clear guidance to ensure that vulnerable forest-adjacent communities, often composed of women with forest-dependent livelihoods, can access fair benefit-sharing mechanisms. Many forest carbon projects are situated on lands traditionally used by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, whose rights are frequently unprotected, highlighting the urgency for stronger governance and equitable frameworks.
To address these challenges, Human Rights Defenders Networks in East Africa are building capacity among local advocates to support Indigenous and local communities. The Coalition of Human Rights Defenders is leading efforts in creating awareness on the rights on IPCL in carbon trading agreements in six African countries for example to develop benefit-sharing guidelines/guidance documents tailored to each nation’s legal and policy context. These guidelines will align with the UNFCCC Cancun Safeguards[2] and uphold the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), ensuring that carbon trading initiatives respect community rights and promote social and environmental benefits.
A Turning Point in Kenya
Earlier this year, in Mombasa, Kenya, 17 human rights defenders from across East and Southern Africa gathered for a unique workshop led by the Expert Deployment Mechanism – Climate Action Africa (EDM-CAA) and Oxfam teams. Many were indigenous leaders, grassroots organization leaders, attorneys, and advocates who dedicate their lives to supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities. They came together with one goal: to build the knowledge and tools they need to defend their communities against poorly negotiated, unfair and unequitable carbon trading deals.
The key concerns raised by Human Rights Defenders center on the persistent exclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) from carbon trading agreements. These agreements often lack inclusive stakeholder consultations and fail to provide IPLCs with the necessary understanding of what they are signing. Language barriers such as contracts written only in English without translation services, further hinder informed participation. Communities are frequently denied access to grievance mechanisms when land rights are violated, and there are no systematic guidelines to train local leaders in monitoring, reporting, or advocating for benefit-sharing. Additionally, the absence of culturally relevant terminology, such as a clear translation of “carbon” into Swahili, underscores the need for more accessible and locally grounded communication tools.
The workshop was born out of an urgent request from an East Africa -based human rights group that had seen firsthand the risks communities face when approached by companies seeking to strike carbon trading deals. The participants in the workshop shared their real-life experiences of contracts delivered or companies arriving with contracts written in technical language, promising money or development benefits, but with little regard for community consent, participation, or long-term well-being.
Participants learned how carbon markets operate, existing international safeguards, grievance redress mechanisms, and how to demand fair and transparent processes. They explored the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)—a fundamental component of Indigenous rights that ensures communities have the right to say “yes” or “no” to projects that impact their lands and livelihoods. In addition, this means that the communities are informed of the implications of those agreements and can make an informed decision that can uphold and advance their rights. Most importantly, one of the outcomes of the training means that the defenders can identify violations arising from carbon trading and create awareness by empowering carbon trading agreements.
Building Trust, Sharing Stories
Workshops like this are not just about technical training. They are also about creating safe spaces where people can open up, share experiences, and build trust across borders. In Mombasa, participants employed creative exercises—such as “I am” statements and collaborative art-making—to express their identities and the challenges they faced.
The stories that emerged were raw and powerful. Building trust, requires balancing role of traditional leaders with modern legal systems but more importantly balancing role of traditional leaders with government lead enabling policy instruments that allow customary laws to work and be enforced at a local level. Some participants shared threats they had received for standing up to powerful interests. Others described the challenge of balancing traditional community leadership with the pressures of modern legal systems. These personal testimonies revealed the difficult and often dangerous reality of defending Indigenous rights in Africa today. Out of these exchanges came not only solidarity but also the seed of a movement—a regional community of practice where defenders can support each other, share strategies, and amplify their voices on the international stage.
Why Safeguards Matter
The stakes could not be higher. In the absence of clear national guidelines, companies and project developers can exploit loopholes in weak governance frameworks and sign carbon trading agreements that marginalize Indigenous communities. Benefit-sharing mechanisms—if they exist at all—are often unfair or opaque, leaving communities with little more than broken promises.
To counter this, Human Rights Defenders networks experts are working to raise awareness and supporting the development of community guidelines tailored to countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. These guidelines are based on the UNFCCC Cancun Safeguards, which emphasize that climate actions should “do no harm” and, where possible, “do good” by delivering social and environmental benefits. They also uphold international principles, such as FPIC, ensuring that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not passive recipients of climate initiatives but active decision-makers.
Such measures are not just bureaucratic checkboxes. They are the frontline defense for local communities whose cultural survival, land rights, ecological stewardship, and livelihoods depend on strong protections and must still be respected in any climate change solutions.
Stories That Inspire Change
Groups like the Africa Coalition of Human Rights Defenders have been raising awareness on the rights of IPLC in carbon trading agreements by reporting the human violations in carbon trading agreements and advocating for community participation and empowering local communities with knowledge about their land rights. The advocacy work by the defenders’ activities helped to strengthen the collective resilience of communities standing on the frontlines of both human rights and climate action.
What makes these initiatives powerful is not only the knowledge imparted, skills gained or enhanced understanding of the policy frameworks, but also the stories of the people involved:
- A woman defending her ancestral land from a carbon trading deal she never agreed to.
- A young lawyer risking his safety to represent a rural community in court.
- A network of activists using WhatsApp groups to share urgent information across borders.
These human stories shine a light on what is at stake—and why the need to strengthen carbon market governance by integrating social and environmental safeguards in carbon trading agreements is so crucial. They remind us that climate action cannot come at the cost of human rights and sound environmental governance. On the contrary, the two must go hand in hand if solutions are to be truly sustainable.
“Here we are experiencing our most encompassing facilitation and knowledge building on a topic that we have a very basic understanding of. I am so grateful that from day one I feel so empowered, we have the best facilitation team that is speaking to the most passionate yet diverse team of human rights and environmental justice defenders. May the knowledge that we imbibe keep nurturing our commitment to thriving communities.” – Human Defenders Participant
Looking Ahead
Workshops like the one in Kenya are a step forward, but much remains to be done. Developing strong national guidelines, building regional networks of defenders, and amplifying the voices of Indigenous leaders are all crucial to the path ahead. Climate justice should not be limited to reducing emissions. It’s also about shifting power and especially strengthening the voices that matter most. Protecting rights in carbon trading is complex, challenging work and often underfunded. But it is also essential—because at the heart of the climate fight are people whose lives, cultures, and dignity must never be sacrificed in the name of progress. The TA provided by CAA aimed to advance the establishment of better governance structures for countries and local communities participating in the carbon markets initiatives.
“Climate justice begins when consent, culture, and community are treated as non-negotiable. Justice must sit at the heart of every climate transaction.” – Human Defenders Participant
The challenge now is to ensure that this interest translates into genuine opportunities for Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This means that the outcomes from the technical assistance should advocate for benefit sharing in carbon trading with vulnerable communities, including women and the youth. Enhanced governance in carbon trading and advocating accountability and are responsibility of traditional leaders and local governments in looking after the welfare and natural resources of local communities.
Source information:
[1] https://www.un-redd.org/document-library/advancing-redd-module-3-redd-safeguards-under-unfccc
[2] https://www.wunc.org/2024-04-11/journalist-says-a-land-grab-in-tanzania-is-forcing-the-maasai-off-their-land
[3] https://easternafricaalliance.org/download/article-6-negotiations-handbook-for-eastern-africa/
