Mulembo CFMA Over the past two years, WLT has supported Kasanka Trust to secure 20,000 hectares of land through the declaration of two Community Forest Management Areas (CFMAs). These will be located within the Kafinda Game Management Area located in the Greater Kasanka Landscape and will ensure forest permanence and a sustainable income source for the CFMAs. Carbon benefits will be derived from voided deforestation and forest degradation within these two CFMAs, including from the reduced risk of forest fires. Moreover, the local communities will be further enabled to manage their forests and to both diversify and enhance their rural livelihoods. To do so, a Community Forest Management Group has initiated ecological zoning and management planning, and will take on the responsibility for implementing emission-reduction activities.
This Carbon Balanced project is expected to increase carbon sinks, and sequester 5,884 tCO2e. Additionally, it will offer habitat for the last surviving African Elephant population in the Upper Congo system, as well as the three Critically Endangered vulture species. Ensuring the long-term integrity of this forested landscape will also provide habitat for the 10 million Straw-coloured Fruit Bats that migrate to Kasanka each year. The project will involve the training of community forest guards, fire management and anti-poaching patrols. Kasanka Trust will also oversee research and monitoring initiatives to measure the impact of the project on climate, communities, and biodiversity.
