What is Kisampa Carbon Zero?
Our Goal:
“To protect and expand natural habitats that act as carbon sinks and provide suitable environments for wildlife. In doing so empowering people to manage these natural resources sustainably for the greater good of their communities and the planet as a whole.”
Forest and Tree Protection
We protect over 100 different species of trees in our forests, including 7 different species of acacia trees, and many more species of shrubs and vegetation.
We work with the communities surrounding Kisampa to patrol our conservancy. We observe the area from boats, air planes, and on foot, which gives us multiple vantage points for efficient information gathering.
In the near future, we hope to use the donations we receive for further protection of the trees. This includes, verifying the number of trees we have and analysis of vegetation within our forests, calculating the amount of carbon sequestered by these trees and further staff training, patrolling, equipment and vehicle costs.
Illegal timber logging
One of the issues we face at Kisampa is the illegal logging of protected trees around our conservancy.
Illegal logging destroys the trees that act as carbon sinks causing reductions of carbon sequestration capacity, which in turn contributes to climate change. In addition, this process reduces forest cover area which exposes surrounding lands to extreme weather and higher temperatures.
Timber log splitting
Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, especially in tropical rain forests where over 50% of all of the world’s documented animal and plant species are found. Logging also directly impacts soil and hydrological cycles, as the reduction in tree cover leads to increases in water runoff and soil erosion.
As logging intensity increases, overall animal species richness tends to decline.
Destruction of forestry
The threat to biodiversity and wildlife that call our forests their home is also severe. More and more species that thrive within forest habitats struggle to survive as their habitats are destroyed around them, placing many of these animals and plants on the verge of extinction.
We work with people in the communities around Kisampa to carry out patrols to reinforce our physical presence in the area and ensure we know what’s happening in the conservancy.
Timber pile for Pyrolysis
In developing countries, particularly those in the tropical zone, significant proportions of the population are engaged in logging for subsistence purposes, such as to provide fuel wood, construction materials, or income.
Charcoal is produced by the process of Pyrolysis, which is the slow burning of wood in a kiln in a limited supply of air, leading to the release of gases and the formation of a solid residue enriched in carbon, charcoal.
Similarly to illegal logging of trees, we combat this by patrolling the conservancy.
Bags of Charcoal
The production of charcoal is a huge threat to local forests and protected areas. The process also produces massive amounts of harmful gas emissions which contribute to alarming rising levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and climate change.
Charcoal on the way to the market
A large amount of timber felled in illegal logging is used to make charcoal. This charcoal is the primary fuel source for most African communities, both rural and urban.
The population of Dar Es Salaam is 6.3 million and has been increasing at 5% since 2018. This city is the main market for charcoal from our area. The charcoal used in Dar Es Salaam is equal to 70% of all charcoal consumed in Tanzania.
500,000 bags of charcoal are used a month which means that over 500,000 hectares of forest is lost every month.