• by Soumaïla T. Diarra (bamako)
• Saturday, January 16, 2010
• Inter Press Service

Mohamed Abd Khibé is a caretaker at the acacia nursery in Dialoubé village, part of a project to sequester carbon in trees while simultaneously improving farmers' livelihoods.

'This nursery is a source of pride for me, because it allows me to feed my family,' says Khibé.

Dialoubé is in a region of sparse savannah in north-western Mali, near the Mauritania border. A cold, dry harmattan wind whistles through the fence surrounding the nursery full of young Acacia senegalensis seedlings, about 100 metres away from the villagers' mud houses.

Further out lies a 50-hectare plantation established in 2007: part of Mali's Acacia Senegal Plantation Project which aims to plant 6,000 hectares of acacias in four villages in the area. The project is a partnership between local communities, the World Bank and Déguessi Vert, a Malian agro-industrial concern.

In the first phase, each village planted 50 hectares. These plantations are intended to eventually fall under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which awards credits to projects in developing countries that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. These 'carbon credits' can then be purchased by polluters in developed countries in order to meet their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.

The Mali project aims to plant 10,000 hectares of acacia across the country. These trees will positively impact the climate by sequestering 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2012 and over 500,000 tonnes by 2017 (the price per tonne of carbon varies between $3 and $10).

The project is progressing, but slowly. Although the acacia tree is very resistant to harsh conditions, the saplings are not growing very well in this arid part of Mali, according to Moussa Touré, technical manager of the plantation at Tendjé village, 20 kilometres from Dialoubé.

'The water from shallow and salty traditional wells is unsuitable for agriculture and household consumption. And modern drilling is insufficient to supply the population and water the seedlings,' says Touré.

To the lack of water, one must add the issue of stray animals. Each year millions of small ruminants make the seasonal trek from southern Mauritania to north-western Mali, destroying many young plants in their path.

In Dialoubé, the surviving saplings have not yet reached the required size to be eligible for carbon credits; two years after they were planted, they are still short of the 1.3 metre height and 2.5 cm diameter requirement.

Another problem is a lack of finances. In 2009, only 600 hectares were prepared in the four villages in this area due to a lack of resources - well short of the planned 1,000 hectares intended to be planted each year.

But the plantation has already begun generating income for local farmers.

Some of the villagers have permanent employment on the plantation, earning just under $50 a month. During a brief period of heightened activity each year, every able-bodied person in the area finds work on the project.

'I earn at least 5,000 CFA francs (over $10) per day filling the pots,' says the caretaker at the Dialoubé plantation.

Locals use this money to buy additional food, as their harvests are often poor due to lack of rain. Cheick Billal Khibé, the former mayor of Dialoubé, says, 'Each year 33 families would temporarily move to Mauritania and Côte d'Ivoire in search of money. Now, only about three families do so.'

More time is needed before the anticipated revenue from the plantations is sufficient to contribute to building schools and health centres in villages.

Apart from the money earned by villagers, the plantations have other immediate benefits, especially from an agricultural perspective. The soil in the area is poor, but Acacia senegalensis enriches its nitrogen content, supporting intercropping of the trees with other crops during the short rainy season from July to September.

The Malian government is requesting the extension of deadlines for the implementation of this and other projects in line with the Clean Development Mechanism.

'About thirty project ideas have been submitted to us. The problem is that the initiators of these projects take time to bring them to fruition,' says Dembelé.

The initiators of the projects are local communities, NGOs and entrepreneurs who collaborate with the World Bank, the largest buyer of carbon credits. Mali is requesting an extension because the initiators sometimes encounter difficulties completing projects in the given timeframe.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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