The Grand Katanga Reforestation Project works towards restoring severely deforested land to generate high-quality, durable, digitally monitored carbon credits across four provinces in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The region boasts excellent conditions for subtropical forest that supports the natural broadleaf vegetation of the Miombo woodlands. However, these woodlands have been threatened by deforestation for charcoal production, slash-and-burn subsistence farming, and water pollution from mining in the neighbouring mining regions.

Roughly 5% of forest cover was lost in the Grand Katanga region between 2002 and 2021, and sadly, less than 1% of old-growth or primary forest remains today. The Grand Katanga Reforestation project works to bring capital flows to a country in need of climate transition financing through the sale of carbon credits. It is a community-driven project that focuses on re-establishing traditional forests with indigenous trees, including several endangered species.

The project has been developed in conjunction with local technical partners and advisors who will provide training and ensure the community's needs are met. A separate land parcel outside the project area is designated to fulfil the community's land requirements for agriculture and charcoal harvesting and protect the project area from deforestation. The community benefits from 50% of the net carbon value generated, ensuring significant socioeconomic co-benefits.

Institutional safeguards have been considered to ensure land use rights and durability. The land is the state's property and allocated through Local Community Forest Concessions (CFCLs), community-run associations set up to manage concessions under the 2014 National Forest Code. Up to 50,000 hectares can be granted in perpetuity through CFCLs.

Treeconomy will monitor this project, starting from a baseline assessment and repeating as the trees grow. The sale of carbon credits through offtake agreements will bring the necessary capital flows to get the project up and running.