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Three pioneering community-based land restoration projects have become the first from Ethiopia to be selected by the Carbon Accelerator Programme for the Environment (CAPE)—a UK-backed initiative designed to mobilise investment into projects that reduce emissions, restore ecosystems, and benefit local communities.
The selected projects—AfriScout Regen, Chifra Landscape Restoration Project, and The People’s Chaka—will receive project development and transaction advisory services to help them progress to investment-ready status. They are delivered with the support of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in Ethiopia.
What Is CAPE?
CAPE was launched in November 2024 by FSD Africa, the UK-backed financial sector development agency, in partnership with the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) and Finance Earth.
A core focus of the programme is supporting equitable financing structures that ensure local communities receive long-term benefit from income generated through the sale of carbon credits linked to ecosystem restoration.
With 62% of Africa’s GDP reliant on natural capital, CAPE aims to build confidence among domestic and international investors in Africa’s nature-based carbon markets. It does so by prioritising high-integrity projects with strong community linkages, robust biodiversity outcomes, and credible carbon methodologies.
The Three Selected Projects
The three projects were selected from over 40 applications. Together, they demonstrate how community-led carbon initiatives can generate climate and biodiversity outcomes while strengthening local economies.
1. AfriScout Regen
AfriScout Regen works with pastoral communities to restore vast rangelands where they graze their herds and to increase livestock productivity.
- Coverage: 1.3 million hectares of grassland
- Households reached: Over 44,000
- Approach: Blends time-honoured adaptive grazing practices with modern technology through an app combining satellite data and AI to guide pastoralists on where and when to move their herds
- Mechanism: By measuring and verifying the carbon sequestration impact of these practices, AfriScout aims to issue carbon credits to fund future activities
- Developer: AfriScout is a social enterprise of the global impact organisation Global Communities
2. Chifra Landscape Restoration Project
This community-based land restoration initiative in Ethiopia’s Afar region is developed by World Vision Australia, in partnership with World Vision Ethiopia.
- Approach: Utilises Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) , a low-cost and sustainable technique involving the regeneration of trees and shrubs from existing stumps, roots, and seeds, alongside new planting
- Goal: Restore over 100,000 hectares of degraded rangelands, enhance biodiversity, and improve pastoral livelihoods
- Outcome: Generate a scalable and credible source of high-quality carbon credits
3. The People’s Chaka
The People’s Chaka is a community-led land restoration project in southern and south-western Ethiopia aiming to reverse deforestation in a highly biodiverse ecosystem.
- Target area: 7,000 hectares (with potential to scale up to 50,000 hectares)
- Impact goals: Prevent land erosion and remove 2.3 million tonnes of CO2e
- Livelihoods: Strengthen rural livelihoods through a revenue-sharing mechanism
- Developers: Co-developed by Menschen für Menschen Foundation (MFM) , an NGO with over 40 years of experience working alongside rural Ethiopian communities, and goodcarbon, a Berlin-based nature-based solutions developer
Why These Projects Were Chosen
The three projects were selected for their:
- Development readiness
- Impact potential
- Alignment with investor and carbon buyer expectations
Together, they illustrate how practical, community-led carbon initiatives can deliver climate and biodiversity outcomes while strengthening local economies and sustainable development at both national and community levels.
What Leaders Say
“What excites me about these projects is how practical they are, and that is exactly what CAPE is here to prove. This is about deploying practical solutions, working with people who depend on ecosystem services to restore them and be compensated fairly for it. When rangelands recover and forests grow back, livelihoods strengthen. Carbon finance simply becomes the way that effort is recognised, sustained, and shown to be a viable investment.”
— Reshma Shah, Carbon Markets Lead, FSD Africa
“For carbon projects to succeed over the long term, they must meaningfully improve livelihoods and share value fairly with the communities at their core. These Ethiopian projects demonstrate how strong benefit-sharing structures can support sustainable incomes and create carbon assets that endure.”
— James Mansfield, Managing Director, Finance Earth
“CAPE Ethiopia is an exciting new initiative that supports the development of Ethiopia’s carbon sector. For the UK, this represents a modern development partnership in action: investing in high-impact local enterprises that meet community needs while safeguarding vital natural resources. At the same time, CAPE Ethiopia connects these communities to global carbon markets, helping them diversify livelihoods and unlock new, sustainable revenue streams.”
— Dr. Nina Hissen, Lead for Climate and Nature, FCDO Ethiopia
