Wildlife Works

Earlier this month, Wildlife Works rangers reported a snared giraffe on Rukinga Ranch. A cable snare, a tool frequently employed by illegal hunters, was discovered encircling the giraffe's neck. Luckily, the snare hadn't yet cut through the animal's skin, but if left unattended, it could have resulted in a fatal wound. Thanks to the vigilant rangers and a quick response, the giraffe was saved from a tragic outcome. Wildlife Works is grateful to have partners such as Kenya Wildlife Service KWS and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, who could successfully immobilize and treat this giraffe. As of June 2023, GIRAFFE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION estimates the current Africa-wide giraffe population to be approximately 117,000 individuals, which is a 30% decline from previous numbers. Giraffes face a high risk of extinction in the wild, and every life counts. #wildlife #giraffe #wildliferescue

The Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya uses football to unite the community and circulate information about the importance of #conservation efforts. Matches between staff and locals are used as an opportunity to raise awareness about wildlife protection, address environmental issues, and promote sustainable agriculture. These events foster collaboration and highlight the importance of community-led projects funded through #carboncredit revenue, making sustainability a shared goal. Read more in our latest blog by Jane Okoth: https://lnkd.in/g3ReJpGs This story was originally published on Community Voice, an initiative from Everland dedicated to amplifying the stories of local and Indigenous communities, directly from the fragile ecosystems that are critical to fighting the climate crisis.

Wildlife Works is thrilled to announce a publication, ‘A novel deforestation risk and baseline allocation model for the next generation of nested REDD+ projects’ in Nature Portfolio’s Journal, Scientific Reports, from a team of scientists that includes members of our own staff. This paper was authored by PhD researchers and forestry scientists that include team members from Wildlife Works and Everland : Emily Dangremond, Will Gochberg, Ph.D., Jeremy Freund and Maren Pauly. The BAAR model builds on over a decade of work by Wildlife Works in preparing its NBS projects for nesting into National REDD+ programs in multiple countries including Cambodia, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The method enables the standardization of nested project baselines and ensures they are consistent with the jurisdictional programs’ climate goals, while still reflecting the risk of future deforestation accurately for each project. Risk-adjusted baselines enable governments to attract higher investment to highly threatened forests, without the risk of inflated project specific baselines that could jeopardize the integrity of jurisdictional programs. “Wildlife Works has used the BAAR approach for more than 10 years, and we are now making this work publicly available to enrich the current discussions on how best to design jurisdictional programs with nested projects as the carbon market for NBS is rapidly advancing,” said Jeremy Freund, Chief Technology Officer at Wildlife Works and co-author of the paper. This achievement underscores our commitment to in-house expertise, which is critical for ensuring high-quality projects and for effectively leading the voluntary carbon market towards higher integrity. There is an urgent need to scale REDD+ projects across jurisdictions; however, methodologies for allocating national baselines have not been standardized nor tested. This new research represents the first time a risk allocation model has been tested, providing a tool for jurisdictions to standardize how they set baselines. Efforts are already underway to improve BAAR. The next version will use more advanced satellite data to include not just complete deforestation, but also forest degradation, among other advantages. Learn more in our latest blog: https://lnkd.in/g64YeqcF Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/gUkPVvWA

Wildlife Works is deeply honored to have hosted Eve BAZAIBA MASUDI, the Minister of Environment for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at the Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project. On July 8th, Minister Bazaiba visited the territory of Inongo to see firsthand the positive impact of the Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project’s initiatives. She inaugurated vital social infrastructures developed by our subsidiary, ERA Congo, including a health center in Ibali village and a school in Inunu. After visiting the new school in Inunu, Minister Bazaiba declared, “It is in such conditions that students can study. And it's better thanks to the conservation of the forest which gives us carbon credit funds in exchange. These funds allow us to carry out social work such as schools, health structures, agriculture and even employment [...] This is what we are going to duplicate in the other forest provinces. These provinces can no longer be considered poor because they are humanity's solution to the climate crisis.” The Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project is a clear example of how forest communities can choose conservation to fund their self-determined sustainable development. As we continue our mission, we are encouraged by Minister Bazaiba's vision to replicate this model in other forest provinces. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gd9Vc-rh #REDD+ #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateAction #CommunityDevelopment #WildlifeWorks

In case you missed it, IETA’s Latin America Climate Summit recently convened in Cartagena, Colombia. Members from our Colombia and Brazil team attended and observed these key takeaways: 🌱 Indigenous and local communities' voices are growing stronger in #carbonmarket discussions. We must continue supporting their capacity-building and decision-making involvement. 🌱 Local communities highlighted how #REDD+ projects are making tangible improvements in their living conditions, health, education, and employment opportunities. 🌱 The private sector is committed to enhancing integrity in the voluntary carbon market and ensuring compliance with social and environmental safeguards. 🌱 #BiodiversityCredits show great potential in the region. However, they also present new challenges in quantification and development of market standards. 🌱 The summit fostered open dialogue between communities, the private sector, and governments on carbon market regulations across the region. It provided a valuable platform for exchanging experiences on carbon market development in various Latin American countries. These takeaways echo the Peoples Forests Partnership’s conversations at #LondonClimateActionWeek, which you can read more about here: https://lnkd.in/g-xAd436 We're excited to continue our work in this dynamic field, developing innovative climate and biodiversity solutions by driving #climate funds to local communities for their self-determined sustainable development. #ClimateAction #SustainableDevelopment #LatinAmerica Enrique Díaz Gonzalez - Country Director -  Colombia Marília Oliveira - Specialist in Climate Policy and Indigenous Affairs  Liliana Ayala - Climate Policy Specialist

The raging debates around the #voluntarycarbonmarket in the Global North must not drown out the voices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities who are at the forefront of forest conservation in the Global South. The Peoples Forests Partnership has called upon the Science Based Targets initiative to allow corporations’ use of high integrity carbon credits for Scope 3 emissions, when the credits come from nature-based solutions projects that are aligned with Peoples Forests Partnership Principles. “The eventual decision on whether to allow carbon credits for the abatement of Scope 3 emissions will impact the flow of financial resources that come to our members’ voluntary carbon market projects, impacting the future of their people.”    As a leading developer of community-centered REDD+ projects, we echo the Peoples Forests Partnership’s call for a balanced approach that accelerates decarbonization while driving finance directly to those on the frontlines of forest conservation. We urge the SBTi and all stakeholders to ensure that forest communities have a seat at the table in these crucial discussions that control their access to global finance. Their voices, rights, and traditional knowledge are essential for creating effective, equitable solutions to the climate crisis. Read their full letter here: https://lnkd.in/eGzXcWsn 

In this edition of our monthly newsletter we cover an exciting new study in animal communication, essential #voluntarycarbonmarket updates, and our team's presence at various #biodiversity and #climate conferences.

Geoffrey Mwangi, Wildlife Works Senior Research Scientist at the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, recently spoke at the World Biodiversity Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Geoff used the Kasigau Corridor as a case study to illustrate how the #voluntarycarbonmarket can be used to ensure communities and biodiversity are not left behind while achieving climate benefits. Geoff’s key findings from attending the conference were: 🌱 Climate change remains a major threat to biodiversity. 🌱 Market-based solutions are crucial to address the $700 billion annual conservation funding gap. Several biodiversity units were showcased at the conference, but more standardization is needed. #Carboncredits are currently the most viable market-based mechanism to also protect biodiversity. 🌱 Climate change discourse is still the leading approach to pursue biodiversity conservation since: -It has a unified framework (UNFCCC), under which most actions are undertaken, compared to multiple biodiversity frameworks such as the CBD, Ramsar Convention, CITES and others, which makes biodiversity action more scattered. -It has a clear target (1.5°C warming limit). -It presents a stronger business case, attracting more political attention. Were you at the World #Biodiversity Forum? If so, we’d love to hear your key takeaways in the comments section below.

This week at the Oslo Tropical Forest Forum, Eve BAZAIBA MASUDI, Minister for the Environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told polluting, industrialized countries to move away from development aid and towards a win-win market finance partnership. High-integrity REDD+ projects direct climate funds to Global South governments and local forest communities so that they can reach their own development goals, on their own terms.

Meet Laura Martínez-Íñigo, Principal Biodiversity Scientist at Wildlife Works. Laura’s passion for community-led conservation and in-depth knowledge of biodiversity monitoring techniques makes her an invaluable part of our team.