Meeting Kafue-Zambezi Community Forests Project's First Community Forest Management Group

CEO Diaries by Nic Mudaly: Meeting KZCFP’s First CFMG

Each field trip I take leaves me in awe of Zambia’s vast and pristine wild spaces, which diversify from one Province to the next, crafting one of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth.

Then, once I meet and engage with our eager community partners, the custodians of this beautiful land, I am doubly inspired by what we can all achieve together using climate finance as a tool to transform lives and protect our environment.

Last week I traveled to Zambia’s largest province, Western, home to the Lozi-speaking, indigenous Barotse communities. Whom, we are partnering with as part of our largest REDD+ project yet, the Kafue-Zambezi Community Forests Project (KZCFP).

It was here that I met with our most capable team on the ground, the Zambian Forestry Department Ministry of Green Economy and Environment – Zambia, and the very first Community Forest Management Group (CFMG) formed under the KZCFP.

We have seen three formed in total so far, with many more to come given the size of the Project area in the first instance alone (over 2 million hectares!)
This is a pivotal milestone in the implementation of the project.

CFMGs are fundamental to the verification and success of REDD+ projects because these are the very (community-elected) committees that manage the revenue allocated from the sale of carbon credits for their respective Chiefdoms.

A great responsibility falls on these committees to follow the correct structure and governance in the delivery of infrastructure projects, social impact schemes, and livelihood initiatives. But, as the custodians of these community forests, it is only they who can take on this role.

BCP strictly adheres to the United Nations’ Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) – a specific right granted to Indigenous Peoples recognized in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which aligns with their universal right to self-determination. And the formation of CFMGs is a vital component of upholding the rights of our indigenous partners.

BCP, together with Peace Parks Foundation, The Zambian Forestry Department, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, and of course – the Barotse Royal Establishment – cannot wait to see what lies ahead in our shared mission of making the conservation of wildlife habitat valuable to people.

I Can’t wait for this chapter to unfold!