Overview
As the first Nigerien A/R Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project activity, the Niger Acacia Senegal Plantation Project, NASPP aimed to restore deforested and highly degraded land in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of the Republic of Niger by empowering rural communities to adopt sustainable agro-forestry practices by establishing plantations using native species Acacia senegalensis (Acacia Senegal). This project represents the first effort in Niger to establish Acacia Senegal plantations on a large scale in regions where dry forests are unable to regenerate by natural means. The sale of emission reduction credits from the carbon sequestered in plantations has made the project more viable by providing an additional revenue stream that has supplemented income from the sale of Arabic gum from the acacia tree.
Benefits
Rural communities covered under the Community Action Program (CAP) have been involved in the establishment of plantations, maintenance, harvest, and sale of gum from plantations. The major benefits of this public/private partnership to rural communities has been the technical transfer of know-how and training provided by ME/E/LCD and market access for the sale of Arabic gum guaranteed by ASI so as to ensure the project’s sustainability. In addition, ASI has taken responsibility for managing the distribution of tCER revenue to rural communities, corresponding to their share of carbon sequestered. ASI and ME/E/LCD have constituted the main technical and extension support for the project. In return, the rural communities have agreed to develop plantations in accordance with the standards and technologies recommended by ME/E/LCD.