Malawi REDD+ AUDD Initiative | Terra Global Capital

Kulera Landscape REDD+

Program Details

Location	Northern and Central Malawi
Status	Active
Stage	Post Investment
Program Area (ha)	162,632
Reductions/Removals (Avg Annual)	210,421 tCO2e
Program Type	REDD+ AUDD
Blue Carbon/Peatland	–
Market Standard	VCS, CCB
Methodology	VM0006
Program Start	2009
1st Verification	July 2014

About the Program

Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program for Co-Managed Protected Areas in Malawi provides critical resources for communities to protect their forests through improved climate smart agriculture and sustainable land use planned by the communities themselves. Malawi is the poorest country on earth and a landscape-based REDD+ approach that works directly through community association is the most dependable path for conservation based sustainable development. The REDD+ Program areas are located in a five-kilometer zone inside the boundaries of three key protected areas in Central and Northern Malawi: Nyika National Park, Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve, and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. These parks are under increasing pressure of encroachment from local populations, which has exacerbated deforestation and forest degradation rates along the borders of the protected zones. The overall goals of the Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program are to reduce deforestation and degradation in these select protected areas, and to improve livelihoods by managing natural resources as an asset base to capture long-term economic benefits.

The project proponents, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), the Nyika-Vwaza Association (NVA), the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve Association (NAWIRA), and Terra partnered with a Malawi-based NGO, Total LandCare, to prepare this REDD+ program and generate Verified Emission Reductions (VER). The project is now selling VERs to continually fund conservation efforts in conjunction with livelihood improvements for successful climate, community and biodiversity benefits in a win, win, win situation.

One of the principal objectives of the project is to improve understanding of co-management agreements for protected areas and build the capacity of community associations to carry out program management and enforcement activities. In addition, within the five-kilometer buffer zone surrounding each protected area, the project has introduced a number of livelihood improvements designed to provide alternative income sources, improve food security, and reduce pressures on natural resources. These programs include agricultural improvements through crop diversification, improved varieties and new interventions, planting woodlots on degraded lands, using improved cook stoves, and improving management and areas of community forests.

Community Benefits

Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program for Co-Managed Protected Areas targets over 65,000 households (350,000 people) living in rural communities in the border zone of the program protected areas. Most households are characterized by dire poverty, undertaking practices that are destructive to the resources upon which their livelihoods depend. In addition, many communities have limited access to support services because they reside in remote areas with poor roads and infrastructure. The level of community involvement is decided through a consultative participatory process based on defined criteria, which include assessments of resources, capabilities and interest, as well as the type and level of support needed. The entry point to identify beneficiaries begins with the leadership structure of communities and villages and established Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) associations falling within the management zones of each protected area. In all cases, gender factors are taken into account to ensure participation and support of women, as well as youth. Given that many households are directly or indirectly affected by HIV/AIDs, the program ensures that interventions encompass opportunities to target these households. Special efforts are being made to target households engaged in illegal exploitation of reserve resources with the aim to understand and address this behavior by providing alternative solutions.

Biodiversity Benefits

Malawi’s protected areas are a primary concern of the Government. Between 1972 and 2005, Malawi’s forest cover was cut in half from increasing demands for farmland and fuelwood. Until recently, most of this occurred on customary land; however, encroachment into protected areas with exploitation of natural resources is now common because of weak Government enforcement. Miombo woodland, the forest type that can be found in all program areas is one of the most threatened forest types in Africa and is home to numerous species found on the IUCN Red List.

The program focuses on improved governance, protection and management of three key protected areas uniquely important for biodiversity: Nyika National Park, Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve, and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. Nyika National Park is located in the northern region of Malawi, covers 3,200 km2 of montane grassland, miombo woodland and evergreen forest and is home to more than 95 mammals, 430 species of birds, 47 species of reptiles, and 34 species of amphibians. Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve lies on the watershed between Lake Malawi and the Luangwa Valley on the Central African Plateau and supports a diverse vertebrate fauna that includes 326 species of birds, 10 species of fish and 50 mammal species, including rare and endangered species such as the African elephant and the African wild dog. Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve is a key watershed to Lake Malawi, an IUCN Biodiversity Hotspot, and supports a number of large mammals including the rare and endangered African elephant, waterbuck, blue monkey, and 280 bird and 24 fish species.

Program Partners

The Kulera Landscape REDD+ Program is implemented by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in partnership with community associations and with technical and financial support from Terra Global Capital, in collaboration with local and national institutions.

Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW): Leads program governance and co-management of protected areas, overseeing implementation across Nyika National Park, Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve, and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve.
Community Associations (NVA and NAWIRA): Represent local communities living around the reserves, manage community engagement, and enforce co-management agreements to ensure long-term forest protection.
Terra Global: Provides technical expertise in greenhouse gas quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification for carbon asset development under market standards. Terra structures and provides climate finance, supports ongoing program management, and commercializes verified emission reductions/removals.

Kulera Landscape REDD+

Program Documents

Terra Global Kulera Info Sheet

Kulera CCB VCS Monitoring Report

Kulera REDD+ Program CCB PD

Kulera REDD+ Program CCB PIR MN1

Kulera REDD+ Program VCS Monitoring Report MN1

Kulera REDD+ Program VCS PD

Kulera Landscape REDD+

Program Activities

Community, Biodiversity, and Climate related activities for the Kulera REDD+ Program.

Land Tenure

Strengthening land tenure and clarifying governance for Protected Area management are essential to prevent illegal encroachment. The program supports participatory, decentralized co-management between the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and Community Associations representing over 45,000 villages adjacent to reserves.

Boundary Clarification: Define and, where needed, re-zone Protected Area boundaries with stakeholder input.
Community Association Formation: Establish democratically elected Community Associations with formal constitutions and by-laws.
Rights and Revenue Sharing: Facilitate the transfer of natural resource rights and revenue sharing from DNPW to communities through co-management agreements.
REDD+ Co-Management: Support REDD+ agreements defining roles, responsibilities, carbon tenure, and financial and operational governance.

This approach builds transparent, locally led governance systems that strengthen tenure and protect forests.

Implementation Support

Building on strengthened tenure and governance, the program supports co-management plans that define allowable land uses within Protected Areas. Signed between the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and Community Associations, these plans establish shared management and compliance responsibilities.

Community Obligations: Ensure compliance with the National Parks and Wildlife Act (2004), related laws, and approved management plans. Report non-compliance to relevant authorities such as DNPW or the Malawi Police.
Benefit Sharing: Renew co-management agreements to allow communities to share park entrance and concession revenues.
DNPW Obligations: Build Association capacity and support wildlife-based and other income-generating activities.
Village Forest Management Plans: Villages submit plans approved by district commissioners, integrating land-use rules into by-laws with penalties for violations. Approval authorizes chiefs to enforce compliance.

This approach promotes accountability, sustainable land use, and community participation in Protected Area management.

Forest Protection

With limited law enforcement capacity, the Program empowers communities to protect forests through training and co-management with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). This participatory approach promotes “social fencing” and local stewardship.

Community Training: Recruit and train members to support enforcement and operations.
Capacity Building: Train officials in governance, resource management, and conflict resolution.
Participatory Enforcement: Strengthen community-led protection and mobilization.
Operational Support: Provide GPS, radios, and motorbikes to improve field capacity.
Environmental Awareness: Support village committees, teacher training, and youth conservation clubs.

This builds local ownership, stronger governance, and lasting forest protection.

Fire Prevention

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), in collaboration with Community Associations, will develop and implement a fire management plan for Protected Areas. Activities include installing fire breaks, establishing early warning systems, clearing dead wood, discouraging hunting fires, and preventing revenge-based burning.

Training and Education: Provide training on fire prevention and reduction within conservation agriculture programs.
Collaborative Planning: Develop fire management plans jointly with Community Associations.
Implementation: Conduct controlled burns, establish fire breaks, manage weeds, and apply ecologically sound fire practices.
Awareness Campaigns: Implement fire control and management campaigns to increase community understanding and participation.

This integrated approach reduces wildfire risk, safeguards ecosystems, and strengthens community awareness and preparedness.

Fuelwood Efficiency

The Program will provide fuel efficient cookstoves to 35,000 households to reduce fuelwood consumption. Using TLC’s proven design, built from local mud and bricks within traditional kitchens, the stoves are efficient, low cost, and durable, reducing wood use by 30 to 50 percent.

TLC aims to further improve the design to reach 50 percent efficiency in collaboration with other stove designers. Each unit is hand built by users, fostering ownership and higher adoption rates than movable metal stoves.

Training of Trainers: Conduct cookstove construction training through women’s groups.
Community Adoption: Introduce improved stoves and hold sensitization meetings to reduce firewood use and deforestation around Nyika Vwaza and Nkhotakota.

This initiative reduces deforestation pressure, saves household fuel costs, and promotes sustainable energy practices.

Woodlot Management

These activities establish sustainably managed woodlots to provide alternative fuelwood sources for local communities and tobacco farmers. Under the Program, communal woodlots will be planted, and management of existing woodlands will be strengthened through workshops and capacity building.

Although biomass increases from these areas are not directly accounted for, the reduced fuelwood pressure on protected forests is reflected in the REDD+ framework.

Community Training: Provide sensitization and training on nursery creation, management, and outplanting.
Nursery Establishment: Establish and maintain village nurseries in communities surrounding Nyika Vwaza and Nkhotakota.
Seedling Outplanting: Support large scale seedling outplanting for community use.
Woodlot Management: Strengthen community management of natural and planted woodlots.

This approach reduces pressure on protected forests and supports sustainable fuelwood supply for local communities.

Sustainable Agriculture

The Program improves productivity and yields on existing farmland through improved crop varieties, efficient irrigation, and conservation agriculture. Higher-yield cassava varieties mature faster, while better irrigation access supports multiple cropping seasons and more diverse production. Conservation techniques enhance soil fertility, water efficiency, and long-term sustainability.

Irrigation Access: Train communities on using treadle pumps and other irrigation systems for vegetable production.
Crop Diversification: Promote high-yield, disease-resistant, and drought-tolerant crops adapted to local conditions.
Agronomic Training: Provide guidance on land preparation, early planting, and weeding.
Conservation Practices: Integrate agroforestry, organic manure, intercropping, and legume rotations to raise yields and reduce erosion.
Cassava Distribution: Distribute improved cassava bundles to increase food production.

These activities enhance agricultural resilience, food security, and reduce pressure on surrounding forests.

Enterprise Development

The Program promotes rural enterprise through ecotourism and sustainable production of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as honey, coffee, and macadamia. These activities improve livelihoods, build self-sufficiency, and reduce pressure on Protected Areas. Small livestock husbandry further diversifies income and enhances food security.

Ecotourism: Develop new sites and collaborate with Wilderness Safaris to expand activities near Protected Areas.
Honey Production: Train communities in beekeeping, provide apiary equipment, and facilitate honey marketing.
Coffee Production: Conduct training and extension support to improve cultivation, seedling management, and market access.
Livestock: Support poultry, guinea fowl, rabbits, pigs, and goats with training in husbandry and animal health.
Enterprise Support: Strengthen producer groups and MSMEs with training in production, processing, marketing, and finance.

These efforts create sustainable income, enhance resilience, and promote conservation-friendly livelihoods.

Local Project Coordinators

A qualified Wildlife Manager with an Advanced Diploma in Wildlife Management from CAWM-Mweka, Tanzania, Mr. Lipiya…
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A qualified Wildlife Manager with an Advanced Diploma in Wildlife Management from CAWM-Mweka, Tanzania, Mr. Lipiya worked for almost 40 years at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in Malawi. His positions included law enforcement officer and supervisor in protected areas for over ten years, wildlife research officer/ supervisor for three years, park manager for seven years, Divisional Wildlife Manager for five years and Wildlife Education and Extension Supervisor for three years. He supported the Kulera REDD+ Project for three years from the DNPW headquarters. Other experience includes working with human-animal conflict for five years and the counterpart to a Technical Advisor in an International Project funded by EU. Mr. Lipiya has two other diplomas in Wildlife Management and in Nature Conservation.

Alphius Lipiya
Local Project Coordinator, Malawi

Local Project Coordinators

Frank Chimpango brings environmental education and community livelihood expertise to Terra Global. He provides…
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Frank Chimpango brings environmental education and community livelihood expertise to Terra Global. He provides technical and program implementation support to local partners in Malawi to carry out program activities, monitor results, and strengthen coordination between the Terra Global international teams and local partners. Before joining Terra Global, Frank designed, managed, monitored, and evaluated environmental education and community livelihood programs for six years, specifically targeting rural communities living in peripheral protected areas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Technology/Physics from the University of Malawi – The Polytechnic. In addition, he is studying for a Master’s in Transformative Community development at Mzuzu University.

Frank Chimpango
Local Project Coordinator, Malawi