Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Kenya · 2012

Kenyan court rules two carbon conservancies were unconstitutionally established

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 4 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

A Kenyan court ruled in January 2025 that two conservancies in the Northern Kenya Grasslands Carbon Project were unconstitutionally established. Meta and Netflix bought the credits, and Survival International said Borana and Samburu herders lost grazing rights.

What?
A Kenyan court ruled in January 2025 that two conservancies in the Northern Kenya Grasslands Carbon Project were unconstitutionally established. Mongabay
Where?
Isiolo County, northern Kenya Mongabay
When?
Scheme began in 2012; first credits 2013–2016; court ruling 24 January 2025; reinstated June 2026 Mongabay
Who?
Gained
Lost
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Soil carbon credits issued on conservancy land and sold to buyers. Native
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

According to the scheme's own page, published with its marketer Native, the Northern Kenya Grasslands Carbon Project began in 2012, covers 1.9 million hectares and 22 conservancies, and is designed to remove about 50 million tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime.

Survival International, summarised by Down to Earth in March 2023, said the first crediting period (2013–2016) produced 3.2 million credits, all sold by January 2022, which it valued at $21–45 million.

Mongabay reported that in January 2025 the Isiolo Environment and Land Court ruled that two conservancies in the scheme were unconstitutionally established.

Verra suspended the scheme and reinstated it in June 2026 after a community vote.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2021–2025-01-24Claimant won
      Challenge to two community conservancies in Isiolo
      Isiolo Environment and Land Court · Civil · 165 local herders → Northern Rangelands Trust

      The court ruled that the two conservancies were unconstitutionally established (Mongabay). Mongabay

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Oakland Institute alleged in 2021 that NRT rangers carried out extrajudicial killings; a 2022 review commissioned by The Nature Conservancy and other donors found 'strikingly little evidence', which the Oakland Institute called a sham.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Wall Street Journal reported more than 6 million credits sold, worth $42–90 million, as cited by Survival International; the article itself could not be checked against the original.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: proponents projected $300–500 million from carbon sales, as reported by Survival International.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: REDD-Monitor reported in April 2025 that NRT's objection to the ruling was rejected; other sources say an appeal is ongoing.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say how much carbon revenue reached local communities.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Company or project

    Press and investigations

    1. Blood Carbon
      Survival International, summarised by Down to Earth · 2023-03

    Communities and civil society

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Places and local terms

    Conservancy (Kenya)
    In Kenya, land managed by a community or private owners for wildlife alongside grazing, often with outside partners.
    Pastoralists
    People whose livelihoods depend on moving livestock between grazing lands.

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Buffer pool
    A reserve of credits held back from sale by a carbon programme to cover future losses, such as forest burned or logged after credits were issued. It works as the programme's own insurance.
    Carbon credit
    A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.
    REDD+
    Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. A UN framework under which forest projects earn carbon credits for deforestation they say they prevented, measured against a projected baseline.
    Standard-setter and registry
    An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
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