REGENERATION KENYA (RK) VPA01

The Regeneration Kenya PoA involves Afforestation and Reforestation activities targeting six counties in Kenya. The project will support at least 500 private landowners to plant, regenerate and maintain over 35 million trees over 26,000 ha leading to land restoration, carbon sequestration, climate resilience, improved livelihoods, jobs creation, increased food security and income generation. The Regeneration Kenya VPA-01 is the first real case VPA under the Regeneration Kenya PoA and will target 3500 ha of land and about 220 farmers, within Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo Counties. The RK project will be a country-level PoA encompassing rural farming areas of six counties in the Rift Valley Region in Western Kenya. Beyond VPA01, there is a potential to expand to West Pokot, Trans Nzoia and Nakuru Counties for future VPAs. The project enrols private landowners selected on the basis of eligibility criteria: i) demonstration of land ownership, ii) exclusion of the following- wetlands, peatlands, protected areas (national parks and forest reserves), riparian areas and land deforested or converted from the natural state within the last 10 years before the project start date. Earthbanc AB will develop the RK PoA and corresponding VPAs as the Coordinating Managing Entity, implemented by Earthtree Company Limited and Green Planet Initiative (GPI2050) as the VPA implementers. The technologies to be employed include Afforestation and Reforestation activities carried out on private farmlands and Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) on degraded pasturelands (silvopasture). Afforestation will include planting native and naturalised exotic trees on agricultural land and restoration of native species through ANR on pasturelands. Additionally, activities will also include the production of Non-Timber Forest products, including the planting of other food crops and fruit trees like mulberry The multipurpose native and naturalised species planted in the project areas or landscapes will be at the proportion of 53.3% and 46.7%% respectively. The project encourages farmers to plant at least 4 species on small farms and at least 8 species on larger farms to promote biodiversity and to avoid monocropping. The project has one large central nursery and also uses some KFRI-certified nurseries for the supply of seedlings to farmers. The nursery utilises root-trainers, which are reusable for over 15 years, and will replace single-use poly bags. Land preparation will involve fencing and pit digging (pitting) which will be carried out by both hand-held tools and tractors. Seedling transplantation at the farm level will be done using manual and simple mechanical (customised / fabricated planting spears) means. The sites and land area are selected based on the Gold Standard A/R methodology stipulating the 10-year forest rule, whereby any land considered must have been converted to agricultural farmlands more than 10 years ago from the project start date. Landowners are enrolled in the RK Project voluntarily after a rigorous Free Prior, and Informed Consent Process (FPIC), each landowner is onboarded upon signing a landowner agreement that stipulates the roles, responsibilities, and benefits shared by both parties. The project also has livelihood and business strategies. Within the planted or regenerated tree farms or woodlots, the project will promote alternative livelihood activities such as beekeeping and sericulture for honey and silk production, mulberry among others, for additional income. Trees will also generate gums, resins, fruits, nuts, leaf extracts and medicine that are processed for local and export markets. To reduce biomass consumption and indoor air pollution, the project will distribute at least 3,000 improved cookstoves to different households, this will reduce firewood consumption, reduce deforestation and promote environmental conservation; improving health and indoor air quality. The project aims to create carbon pools, ecosystem services (soil erosion control, watershed management and soil health), livelihood capitals and income streams from carbon credits, and possibly Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). The project will also contribute to several SDGs including SDG-1, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 7, SDG 8, SDG 13 and SDG 15. Three months after planting, a planting verification exercise is conducted to confirm each planted farm and the number of seedlings planted by species, in case some seedlings do not survive replanting will be planned. The assessment is conducted through a mixture of physical verification by field Officers and also through drone mapping activities. Each landowner will be in charge of taking care of their farms, protecting against encroachment and damage, and general tree management as per the established farm management plan.

Project ID

GS13006

Registry

Gold Standard

Type

Afforestation/Reforestation · Forestry & Land Use

Removal or reduction

Impermanent Removal

Methodology

—

Developer

Earthbanc AB · 2 projects

Country

Kenya

First vintage

—

Crediting period

2024-04-15 to 2064-04-15

Estimated yearly credits

1,013,167

Scale

Large Scale · VPA

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 15: Life On Land · Goal 1: No Poverty · Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being · Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy · Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth · Goal 13: Climate Action · Goal 5: Gender Equality

Data from

Berkeley VROD v2026-08 + Gold Standard registry

The registry gives Kenya as the location, so this project is not drawn on the map. It is counted in the country totals.