Mikoko Pamoja: Kenya's Mangroves Paying for Their Own Protection

Mikoko Pamoja, Swahili for 'mangroves together,' is the world's first community-run mangrove carbon project, launched in 2012 by residents of Gazi and Makongeni villages on Kenya's southern coast with technical support from the Scotland-based Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services (ACES). The community co-manages 117 hectares of mangrove forest with the Kenyan government, halting deforestation and replanting cleared areas, then sells verified carbon credits under the Plan Vivo standard. As of late 2023 the project had avoided 18,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions and generated $210,000 for the community, funding clean piped water, school books, and new classrooms. It won the UNDP Equator Prize in 2017 for showing how blue carbon finance can fund both climate action and coastal livelihoods.