Ibi Batéké Carbon Sink Plantation

Inside the project

The project is officially titled the 'Ibi Batéké degraded savannah afforestation project for fuelwood production', developed by NOVACEL, a private company associated with Olivier Mushiete, on the Batéké Plateau east of Kinshasa.

It was registered under the UN Clean Development Mechanism on 18 February 2011, becoming the DRC's first CDM project and one of the first afforestation/reforestation CDM projects in Africa (per the UNFCCC CDM registry).

The design builds on the earlier Mampu agroforestry model, intercropping fast-growing Australian acacias (notably Acacia auriculiformis and A. mangium) with cassava to enrich sandy soils, supply charcoal and sequester carbon.

The World Bank BioCarbon Fund contracted to buy certified emission reductions from the project, alongside private buyers such as the French firm Orbeo; civil-society groups (e.g. World Rainforest Movement, EJAtlas) later disputed whether the planting and carbon delivery matched the claims.

Objectives

• Sequester CO2 by afforesting degraded, fire-prone savanna with fast-growing tree plantations
• Supply sustainable fuelwood and charcoal to the Kinshasa market to reduce pressure on natural forest
• Generate carbon revenue to fund local development, including a school and health clinic
• Raise rural incomes through agroforestry crops such as cassava, maize and honey

Approach

• Plant nitrogen-fixing acacias on degraded plateau savanna, rotated with cassava and maize on a Mampu-style agroforestry cycle, converting mature woodlots into charcoal for Kinshasa as a sustainable substitute for natural-forest harvesting.
• Monetise removals as CDM certified emission reductions sold to the BioCarbon Fund and private buyers, with a crediting period of 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2038 under methodology AR-ACM0001; critics dispute the scale of delivery and credits actually issued.