Carbon Credit Projects Threaten Human Rights in Kenya's Indigenous Communities

The Kenyan government carried out violent evictions in the country's Indigenous communities in 2023. According to human rights lawyers, profiting from carbon credit offsetting schemes was behind these evictions.

Carbon credit projects are considered problematic and exploitative, as the rights of the people living in these areas are violated. Currently, most countries hosting carbon projects, particularly in Africa, don't get to authorize their credits and therefore don't benefit much from them. And the agreement reached on Article 6 carbon markets at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, doesn't provide the needed transparency and accountability mechanisms.

This project explores how carbon credit projects contribute to human rights violations in Kenya’s Indigenous communities, such as the Ogiek, Sengwer, and Borana communities in Mau Forest, Embobut Forest, and Isiolo, respectively, whose ancestral homes have been signed up for carbon credit projects without their say.