Reducing Poverty Through Carbon Forestry? Impacts of the N’hambita Community Carbon Project in Mozambique

Debates about the potential poverty alleviation impacts of global carbon markets are far from settled. We extend this debate by examining the impacts of a project in Mozambique that pays local people for carbon forestry activities. We conduct before-and-after project comparison using household data from project and non-project villages. Even though the poorest households participate widely in the project, the impact on incomes is small despite generous carbon accounting and contract terms. Leakage and impermanence remain strong concerns. Development activities under the project unrelated to carbon sequestration have a much bigger impact, albeit on a smaller number of households.