Nyankamba PIN, Ghana
PROJECT IDEA NOTE
Name of Project: Nyankamba Community Resource Management Area REDD Project
Date submitted: January 2010
A. Project description, type, location and schedule
General descriptionA.1 Project description and proposed activities / The project aims to avoid deforestation and forest degradation plus promoting carbon stocks conservation and enhancement (REDD+), through the creation and implementation of a Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) of about 240,000 ha in the Nyankamba escarpment of Northern Ghana.
A.2 Technology to be employed
(mention if REDD will be undertaken) / All the proposed REDD project activities will be related to the implementation of the CREMA, and aim to promote sustainable alternative land uses for the local communities:
- Promotion of sustainable farming practices with agroforestry systems
- Promotion of sustainable charcoal production linked to planned charcoal efficiency project
- Forest and carbon enhancement with forestry practices with particular emphasis on bush fire control and management.
- Biodiversity enhancement and management through fire control and management of surface water supplies for extending perennial surface supply.
- Promotion of sustainable harvesting of shea nuts linked to organic and conservation premiums
- Promotion of ecotourism activities with communities engagement
- Social development activities such education improvement, health assistance, etc.
Project proponent submitting the PIN
A.3 Name / Nature Conservation Research Centre
A.4 Organizational category
(choose one or more) / Non Governmental Organization
A.5 Other function(s) of the project developer in the project
(choose one or more) / Intermediary for funds flow and oversight of trust fund.
Technical advisor
A.6 Summary of relevant experience / NCRC is the leading conservation NGO in Ghana and rapidly is becoming a sub-regional organization with project involvement in 6 countries across the West African sub-region. NCRC has worked closely for many years supporting rural communities, traditional leadership and farmers in building local institutions to access payments for ecosystem services in Ghana. NCRC has been a strong advocate for community-level ownership and benefit sharing of revenues generated from conservation activities.
A.7 Address / P.O. Box KN 925, Accra, Ghana
A.8 Contact person / John Mason, Executive Director
A.9 Telephone / fax / +233-21-231765
A.10 E-mail and web address /
Project sponsor(s) financing the project
(List and provide the following information for all project sponsors)
A.11 Name / Forest Trends
A.12 Organizational category
(choose one or more) / Non Governmental Organization
A.13 Address
(include web address) / 1050 Potomac ST NW
Washington, DC 20007
www.forest-trends.org
A.14 Main activities / FT is an international non-profit organization that works to expand the value of forests to society; to promote sustainable forest management and conservation by creating and capturing market values for ecosystem services; to support innovative projects and companies that are developing these new markets; and to enhance the livelihoods of local communities living in and around those forests. FT analyzes strategic market and policy issues, catalyzes connections between forward-looking producers, communities and investors, and develops new financial tools to help markets work for conservation and people.
FT has been active working on community and forestry issues, studies and policy engagement in critical countries at the international level for the past 10 years. The Katoomba Group, a member of the Forest Trends family of initiatives, is a global network of practitioners working to promote the use of and improve capacity for developing ecosystem services payments.
The Katoomba Incubator was launched in late 2007 to support community-focused projects that contribute to significant innovation in carbon and other PES, drawing on the strengths of the Katoomba Group and its ability to bring together the best local and global expertise for projects. The Incubator provides technical and business support to projects in Latin America and Africa. An initial pipeline of projects is under development in Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Ghana, Liberia, and scoping activities are underway in several other Latin American and African countries.
A.15 Summary of the financials
(total assets, revenues, profit, etc.) / For the year ended 31 Dec 2008
Assets: $4,695,524
Liabilities: 382,249
Net Assets: $4,313,275
Revenues: $6,646,701
Change in net unrestricted assets (equivalent to profit): $296,158
Type of project
A.16 Greenhouse gases targeted / CO2
A.17 Type of activities / REDD
A.18 Field of activities
(Select code(s) of project category(ies) from the list) / 16. Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)
Location of the project
A.19 Country / Ghana
A.20 Nearest city / Damongo (district capital)
Tamale (regional capital)
A.21 Precise location / The project area is located between 9o30’ N; 1o20’ W and 9o30’ N; 2o00’ W and 8o30’ N; 1o20’ W and 8o30’ N; 2o00’ W in the West and Central Gonja Districts of the Northern Region of Ghana.
Expected schedule
A.22 Earliest project start date
(Year in which the project will be operational) / June 2011
A.23 Estimate of time required before becoming operational after approval of the PIN / Time required for financial commitments: 18 months
Time required for legal matters: 18 months
Time required for negotiations: 18 months
Time required for establishment: 18months
A.24 Year of the first expected CER / ERU / RMU / VER delivery / VERs could be delivered by 2012, pending definition of verification schedule.
A.25 Project lifetime
(Number of years) / 20 years, minimum
A.26 Current status or phase of the project / Detailed work conducted on the ground with communities, traditional leaders and local government authorities for past 3 years.
REDD pre-feasibility study finished.
A.27 Current status of the acceptance of the project by the Host Country (choose one) / Letter of No Objection being sought from Government of Ghana.
A.28 Position of the Host Country with regard to the Kyoto Protocol
(choose one) / Ghana is a Party to the Kyoto Protocol (Ghana ratified the Kyoto
Protocol in May 2003) and is a signatory to the UNFCCC.
B. Expected environmental and social benefits
B.1 Estimate of carbon sequestered or conserved
(in metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent – t CO2e. Please attach spreadsheet.)
Provide estimated from REDD activities separately / Up to and including 2012: 311,000 t CO2e
Up to and including 2017: 1,348,000 t CO2e
B.2 Baseline scenario
(What would the future look like without the proposed project?
What would the estimated total carbon sequestration / conservation be without the proposed project? Mention the baseline methodology, as per the CoP9 text.[1] Also explain why the project is additional referring to the EB16 guidelines[2]).
If REDD activity, mention the main drivers and agents for deforestation and how the project will address them[3]. / The primary activities causing deforestation and degradation in the project area include:
· Conversion of forested lands to annual agriculture use (slash and burn agriculture)
· Cutting of forested lands for the production of fuel wood and charcoal for external markets.
· Damage to forest cover by pastoralists seeking fodder for their livestock during the dry season.
These are to some extent driven by residents of the area, but also by settlers and resource users from other regions, with authorization of local authorities.
Forest areas are not legally protected and only generate income for local communities through clearing and unsustainable extraction. In the absence of a clear economic incentive that enables forest conservation, this area is likely to experience intensifying pressure to clear forests for agriculture and extract fuelwood and charcoal for urban consumers. Historic deforestation data is not available for this site, but a conservative 1% p.a. rate (1/2 of Ghana’s national average) was considered for preliminary assessment purposes.
Baseline could be set based on extrapolated historic averages or on modelling of deforestation dynamics and drivers and key part of subsequent project design would be developing a reference scenario and baseline consistent with, and contributing to, Ghana’s national REDD framework.
Project activities to address these REDD drivers include:
· Planting a mix of indigenous tree species in degraded areas. According to the conditions of each area, the forest will be managed by local community employees and casual workers to allow a significant level of natural regeneration, increasing tree species richness.
· Charcoal efforts will focus on establishing control on harvesting, methods, locations, and increasing efficiency of manufacture.
· Fire planning and management will focus on reducing the frequency of wildfire outbreaks in the project area.
· Surface water management will focus on better retention and storage of rainy season surface water supply to maximize water retention, dry season availability and its benefits for biodiversity.
· NTFP planning and management will focus on ensuring longterm sustainable supply of these products for communities and will expand the linkages to export markets through developing organic and conservation premiums for these products.
· Community ecotourism products will be developed in collaboration with private sector operators to create new revenue streams.
These activities are clearly additional and would not be viable without carbon finance. Project activities face barriers of investment, local traditions, prevailing practice, social conditions, and current lack of a tenure framework generating benefits for communities from standing forests.
B.3 Existing vegetation and land use
(What is the current land cover and land use? Is the tree cover more or less than 30%?) / The area lies within the Guinea Savanna Zone. The dominant vegetation type is savanna woodland with a grass layer that can reach up to 2m in height. Smaller floral communities such as swamps, flood-plain grasslands, narrow bands of riverine forests and or low open grasslands growing in shallow soils and iron pan also exist.
Tree cover is >30%, though it should be noted that Ghana’s official definition of forest, communicated to the CDM EB is >15% crown cover.
B.4 Environmental benefits
B.4.a Local benefits / The project lands will be restored to semi-natural forest creating
wildlife corridors linking Mole and Bui National Parks. This area will be managed primarily for wildlife, carbon values and sustainable NTFPs harvesting.
Non-timber plant species will be encouraged at the outset and during the early years to allow development of NTFPs for local and export markets. These species are also selected for the additional ecosystem service functions that they provide, including, for instance, suppression of lower storey weeds (which reduces competition with planted tree species), improvement in fire management (through suppression/ physical breaks), and biodiversity enhancement.
The project will lead to a significant enhancement of biodiversity (both flora and fauna) and consequent enhancement of key ecosystem services. These services include significantly improved levels of carbon sequestration and carbon stocks, improved soil fertility and maintenance, water retention, water shed protection and hydrological regulation.
The project area is strategic for biodiversity conservation, being habitat for a wide range of animals and contiguous with Mole National Park, Ghana’s largest protected area. It is an important corridor for elephant migration and dispersal area south to the Black Volta River and Bui National Park. The area also provides valuable habitat for other vulnerable species such as Leopard, Lion, Roan antelope, Buffalo, Oribi, Bushbuck, Kob, Aardvark, Hartebeest, Warthog, Crested porcupine and various monkey species.
Comprehensive monitoring of key indicator species, and of ecosystem structure and function will be established from the outset of the project.
B.4.b Global benefits / · Mitigation of climate change through reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
· Restoration of important ecosystems, involving significant enhancement of biodiversity and generation of ecosystem services.
· Promotion of payment for ecosystem services as a policy- and market based approach to maintaining the functioning of ecosystems that are necessary for life, including quality of life.
B.5 Consistency between the project and the environmental priorities of the Host Country / The project complies with all relevant national laws and regulations. It will contribute directly to achievement of the government’s Initiative on Forestry, a policy framework established to promote reforestation and contribute to poverty alleviation.
Despite such policy commitments, there has been relatively little proposed or implemented project activity, primarily because funds have been very limited, and those that have been applied are almost exclusively Overseas Development Assistance. The potential for carbon financing to deliver forestry commitments is significant.
Ghana is in final stages of preparing its R-PP. This project will be included as one of Ghana’s proposed pilot projects under the R-PP.
Socio-economic benefits
B.6 How will the project improve the welfare of the community involved in it or surrounding it. What are the direct effects which can be attributed to the project and which would not have occurred in a comparable situation without that project?
(e.g., employment creation, poverty alleviation, foreign exchange savings). Indicate the number of communities and the number of people that will benefit from this project. / Various significant socio-economic benefits accrue to the local community:
· Significant and long term employment opportunity both on a casual and contract basis: during establishment of the project and early maintenance for local community casual workers; during long term maintenance and protection of the project employment opportunities reduced but continue.
· Development of sustainable micro-enterprises based around service and supply provision to the project, and exploitation of goods generated by the project (NTFPs for instance), which may include processing, retail and export.
· Annual share to the land owners and local community of the economic benefits generated by the project.
· Local community benefits to be organized through trust funds, leading to establishment of capitalized income for community project use, including support for micro-enterprise development of agro-forestry activities.
B.7 Are there other effects?
(e.g., training/education due to the introduction of new technologies and products, replication in the country or the region) / · Significant capacity development of trained Ghanaians for similar projects elsewhere in the country.
· Enhancement of Forestry Commission capacity to deliver Government policy on REDD.
· Development of reforestation techniques using mixes of indigenous species, supported by monitoring of research plots to be integrated into the project.
· Significant capacity development of the Forest Research Institute of Ghana.
· Potential model for REDD credits of extensive savanna woodlands in the subregion.
C. Finance