REDD+ Projects Providing Sustainable Livelihoods for Rural Communities?  An Assessment of Voluntary Carbon Offsetting Projects in Peru and Tanzania

Abstract: The voluntary carbon market, the area of focus for this thesis, developed alongside the compliance carbon market when individuals and organisations elected to compensate for their CO2 emissions. The steep growth in demand for voluntary carbon offset credits stemmed from the 2015 Paris Agreement. Climate issues were firmly on the agenda and carbon offsetting was viewed as a way for countries to meet their carbon reduction targets in efforts towards mitigating climate change. Since then, there has been a shift to natural climate solutions, namely forestry and land use carbon projects.  The ideal host location for such projects oftentimes have an existing, usually poor, population.  Project developers claim to help such populations by providing community benefits such as job creation and improved agricultural practices.  However, there is a gap in the research which focuses on the future of these communities after the projects, and how sustainable the benefits are.  This thesis examines the community benefits of two REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects: Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative, Peru and Yaeda Valley REDD Project, Tanzania.  Interviews with project developers are cross-referenced with project documents and other available sources to analyse the sustainability of the livelihood impacts.  The results show that the positive impacts of voluntary carbon projects on a local community can be sustained post-project. Overall, the well-being of community members can improve, as can decision-making skills and capacity levels.  Project participants can become more adaptable to shocks as their livelihoods have diversified and they have stronger links with international markets.  This link with international markets, however, can also become a barrier to livelihood benefits. As local people become reliant on market demand and project funds, they move away from subsistence farming and when demand drops, they may find it hard to prosper.  Additionally, there is a risk that following the departure of the project and its developers, more malevolent and powerful parties may move into the area.  To overcome these barriers, livelihood diversification opportunities need to be strengthened and land tenure issues clarified.