# Taita Hills Conservation Project Launches in Kenya

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2014/02/taita-hills-conservation-kenya/
- Published: 2014-02-19T02:30:40-05:00
- Author: greenguruguides

**Taita Hills conservation in Kenya** linked forest protection with local economic
development. Wildlife Works and the Althelia Climate Fund launched the project with
$10 million in financing to protect threatened ecosystems while supporting nearby
communities.

## Conservation Meets Sustainable Development in Taita Hills

## Taita Hills Conservation Connected Forests and Communities

[⌊Taita Hills conservation landscape in Kenya supported by REDD plus climate finance⌉⌊
Taita Hills conservation landscape in Kenya supported by REDD plus climate finance⌉[

_**Finance deal expands pioneering REDD+ project in Kenya that protects forest, 
wildlife and delivers local economic development at landscape scale across the Tsavo
Conservation Area**_

Mill Valley, California – February 18, 2014 – Wildlife Works Carbon LLC, the carbon
market’s leading REDD+ project development and management company, announced today
that is has signed a $10M financing deal with the Althelia Climate Fund to launch
the Taita Hills Conservation and Sustainable Land Use Project in south-eastern Kenya.

The project aims to protect approximately 200,000 hectares of threatened natural
forest and savannah grassland ecosystems and bring vital economic development benefits
to local communities.

## REDD+ Created an Economic Case for Keeping Forests Standing

Wildlife Works will implement the project utilizing the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions
from Deforestation and forest Degradation) mechanism, an essential climate change
mitigation strategy originated by the United Nations, designed to help stop the 
destruction of the world’s forests.

The program addresses the causes of deforestation by creating sustainable economic
alternatives that value standing forests as “natural capital” and incentivize local
landowners and the broader community to protect their forest for the long term.

> Mike Korchinsky, Founder and CEO of Wildlife Works, said, “With the Althelia Climate
> Fund’s support for the Taita Hills Project, the community has a chance to have
> their broad development needs addressed including education, health, jobs, housing,
> food and water, and security. Althelia’s investment enables us to deliver tangible
> economic benefits on day one, allowing the community to choose to shift their 
> lifestyle towards a green development path.”

The Taita Hills REDD+ Project aims to reduce 30M tons of greenhouse gas emissions
over the 30-year life of the project through the avoidance of deforestation and 
forest degradation. The project will also facilitate the regeneration of already
degraded areas.

This is the first in a series of planned investments by the Luxembourg based Althelia
Climate Fund, an asset management platform dedicated to finance transition towards
sustainable land use and ecosystems conservation. Althelia is backed by notable 
institutions including EIB, FMO, Finnfund and the Church of Sweden.

_“We are inspired by Wildlife Works’ innovative conservation and community engagement
know-how. We have seen proof that their model works to stop deforestation and transform
a community by engaging and enabling local people to directly solve their own problems.
We are delighted to have the opportunity to help this leading-edge company scale
their successful model,” said Christian del Valle, Managing Partner at the Althelia
Climate Fund._

The Taita Hills Project will build upon the success of Wildlife Works’ well-known
Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, the first REDD+ project in the world that in 2010
received verification and issuance of REDD+ Verified Emission Reductions (VERs),
also known as offsets or carbon credits, under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)
and the Climate Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCB).

Sources: [Wildlife Works](https://www.wildlifeworks.com) and the Althelia Climate
Fund
 Image Source: [http://gvikenya.wildlifedirect.org/category/tsavo-west-sustainable-development-programme/](http://gvikenya.wildlifedirect.org/category/tsavo-west-sustainable-development-programme/)

## Conclusion: Conservation Works Best When Communities Benefit

The Taita Hills conservation project showed how climate finance can link forest 
protection with jobs, education, health and local development.

That connection matters because conservation is more durable when communities receive
real economic value from keeping ecosystems intact.

For more on REDD+, see our coverage of [Wildlife Works and the CODE REDD campaign](https://greenlivingguy.com/2016/05/wildlife-works-launches-code-redd-campaign-to-save-the-worlds-threatened-forests/).

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 The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman, is recognized as a green living guru and electric
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