By Abbas Nazil
A carbon market project in Sierra Leone has demonstrated that equitable benefit sharing with local communities and indigenous peoples is possible.
The Africa Conservation Initiative (ACI) recently signed a benefit sharing agreement with more than 200 communities in Sittia Chiefdom to jointly manage a mangrove conservation project.
Supported by Namati, a grassroots justice organisation, the communities received legal assistance to negotiate the agreement, marking one of the first practical applications of Sierra Leone’s 2022 Customary Land Rights Act, one of the world’s most progressive land laws.
Under the agreement, local communities will take a leadership role in stewarding the mangroves, form a joint company with ACI to manage and distribute revenue, and receive 40 percent of gross revenue.
Experts note that basing benefits on gross revenue rather than profit ensures a fairer, more transparent, and consistent flow of funds, avoiding potential accounting manipulations that could reduce community payments.
The arrangement allows communities genuine decision-making power and control over their benefits, strengthening their rights and long-term stake in the project.
Despite this progress, concerns remain regarding implementation and enforcement, given the voluntary carbon market’s historic lack of transparency and accountability.
Carbon Market Watch and other NGOs have highlighted ongoing risks to human rights, including land grabs, weak grievance mechanisms, and inequitable profit-sharing arrangements that force communities to shoulder project risks without sufficient protection.
The authors advocate that benefit sharing should be tied to total annual revenue or a combination of revenue percentage and fixed payments, rather than fixed sums alone.
Following COP30 in Belém, countries are urged to support equitable benefit sharing through national legislation and robust carbon market frameworks, especially since current Article 6 rules under the Paris Agreement lack minimum standards for community benefits.
Agreements like Sierra Leone’s set a precedent, showing that carbon market projects can be designed to prioritize fairness, equity, and local empowerment while advancing global climate goals.