Sango Bay - Minziro Carbon Village

This program aims to accelerate the mitigation, adaptation and reverse the degradation of Sango Bay Minziro Wetland through sustainable conservation activities such as tree planting, sustainable energy usage, sustainable waste management practices and sustainable irrigation. The demand for financing these types of asset class are set to increase over the medium to long-term attracting investors. 

The Sango Bay - Minziro wetland landscape is a large, biologically rich, transboundary landscape spanning across the Minziro Nature Forest Reserve in northwest Tanzania and in southern Uganda.

The opportunities for investment in green and social projects within this wetland is showcased on the online portal which is managed by an enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology that integrates all the core operational functions including SDG indicators, provisional services, regulating services, cultural services, finance, risk, leadership commitment and climate smart interventions.  

SME hub for farmers which includes scalable conservation techniques for expanding operations through  vertical farming. 

The specific problem that this initiative aims to address is the communication, education, participation and awareness of stakeholders within Sango Bay Minziro Wetland to accelerate the mitigation, adaptation and reversal of degradation of Sango Bay Minziro Wetland through green and social investment bonds and collaborative partnerships and projects which provide sustainable conservation activities. 

From an economic perspective, the total economic value of Sango Bay - Minziro Wetland Ecosystem Services conducted by USAID in 2016 was $235 million which includes carbon storage and sequestration valued at $1.5 million.

From a demographic perspective, in 2019, the UN statistics division reported the population of Sango Bay Minziro Wetland to be 498,000, according to a recent report by the Nile basin initiative is forecast to rise to 563,000 in 2025 and 622,000 in 2030 in line with the rapid population growth within the region.

In addition to this Sango Bay - Minziro Wetland faces numerous issues contributing to the problem including the diversity, complexity and vulnerability of stakeholders in a highly unequal society. This is further exacerbated by the overexploitation of resources, and unsustainable resource management practices. 

Sango Bay Minziro Carbon Village is an online integrated big data environmental management portal that collects and gathers key data and mobilises action on natural resources for key stakeholders, communicating, educating, mobilising participation and awareness. It is also designed for group face-to-face training and workshops as well as on an individual basis. It includes a mobile technology application for on-the-ground biodiversity monitoring of trees, plants, soil, water, crops, air, weather forecast and species. Sango Bay Minziro Carbon Village provides practical intelligence for addressing degradation and restoration activities on issues such as pop-up vertical farms using recycled materials, reducing GHG emissions and recycled water filters and eco-toilets. Sango Bay Minziro Carbon village can also generate reports for leadership to inform decision-making on actions to address risks, opportunities, abnormal conditions and foreseeable emergency situations. GIS Satellite technologies are used for leadership planning and stakeholder education. These technologies include GIS technologies that provide satellite weather forecasts, forest change, land cover, land use, biodiversity risk management and assessment. It also provides continuance monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation of the environmental management performance for leadership. Sango Bay Minziro Carbon village can also be used in local schools and universities for educational and citizen science  programs.

In 2017, data taken from the population and housing census of the Sango Bay – Minziro wetland revealed that 80% of the population are rural farmers with 54% under the age of nineteen. 52% of the population are male and 48% female. 61% of the population are literate.  40% of the population have access to safe drinking water, 19% use electricity for lighting and only 2% use electricity for cooking.

These statistics highlight the need for change, adaptation of indigenous practices to climate smart approaches. It demonstrated the need for investment in scaling-up conservation activities including climate smart energy use, waste management, irrigation and other water efficiency. These initial findings confirmed our commitment biodiversity finance in the form of carbon markets, green bonds and conservation incentives.

To understand the needs of these stakeholders, we continue to work in collaborative partnerships with local, national and regional based civil society organisations that have developed projects, reports and research about the needs of the people on the ground.

The initiative to understand and research the needs of primary stakeholders was first initiated in December 2018, as an open access international wetlands forum, launched to engage with wetland professionals and environmental experts specifically within the African continent who engage with these primary stakeholders such as rural farmers on the issue of climate smart agriculture, conservation interventions, sustainable energy use, smart waste management techniques, irrigation and other water efficiency activities. After 18 months of dialogue the importance of mobilising the primary stakeholders to engage with conservation, restoration, adaptation and mitigation was key, but the outstanding issue across African wetlands and ecosystems was the education of climate smart technologies, the needs for climate adaptation as well as the transition from current indigenous farming practices to climate smart approaches using the climate smart technology.

In response to this outcome the River Nile Citizen Science Program was developed covering a wealth of practical hands-on conservation activities for all 10 countries across the River Nile Basin. This initiative is currently being integrated into our partners programs, projects and newsletters to raise awareness. 

How the solution addresses key stakeholder needs are summarised below:

FARMING / LANDOWNER

Climate smart data technology - 80% of the population are rural farmers – The Sango Bay SME hub for farmers and female-led enterprises offers climate smart data technology for free including GSI weather forecast for 7 and 14 days, specific to the region and country. Farmers can also Integrate weather forecasts into their own web page, mobile phone. Configure the parameters and copy the produced HTML code into their digital technology. 

Carbon Program - The carbon program is an investment program that enables local communities to earn a living from planting trees from the re-investment of funds generated from carbon credits amongst other activities. The purpose of our carbon program is to guide our key stakeholders with the design and implementation process of Carbon Offset Programs (COP). Carbon offsets are projects that carry out on-the-ground emissions reduction activities. Projects such as tree planting and farming incorporated into carbon-offset programs with good guidance and planning. The carbon measured in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. The carbon can be traded on the voluntary markets, where investors and carbon traders, form part of a compliance market. Government regulations require emitters to either reduce their carbon emissions or purchase carbon offsets. We will require all our farmers to follow the rules and procedures set out by a voluntary carbon standard such as the Gold Standard.

Agriculture – communication, education, participation and awareness on modifying agricultural practices to reduce emissions by switching to no-till farming, reducing chemical fertilizer use, etc as well as expanding through vertical farming. 

Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switching – communication, education, participation and awareness on improving energy efficiency or switching to cleaner fuel sources.

Forestry and Land Use – communication, education, participation and awareness on managing forests, soil, grasslands, and other land types to avoid releasing carbon and/or increasing the amount of carbon the land absorbs, by planting trees. 

Waste Disposal – communication, education, participation and awareness on reducing methane emissions from landfills or wastewater.

Transportation – communication, education, participation and awareness on increasing access to public and/or alternative transportation (like bicycling) and reducing emissions from private transportation like cars and trucks.

WOMEN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Community cooperative Vertical Plant Farming 

• communication, education, participation and awareness on how to make a community pop-up vertical farm using recycled materials in partnership with local businesses and NGO’s who may donate pro-bono time to guide the building or donate recycled materials such as plastic piping and sheets. Vertical farming can be particularly useful for women who contribute 80% of farm work but own little land. Vertical farming does not require a lot of land space as the plants are staked vertically. Reduces GHG emissions and mitigates against deforestation.
• Household Devices – communication, education, participation and awareness on the use of cleaner-burning stoves or water purification devices to reduce or eliminate the need to burn wood (or other inefficient types of energy).
• Renewable Energy – communication, education, participation and awareness on installing solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy production.

IMPACT: Financial mobilisation of investment opportunities to re-invest into projects through Carbon Market, Green and Social Bond Framework.

Improvement in the functioning of ecosystem resulting in improvements in livelihoods, as well as the reversal of ecosystem degradation.

Opportunities for farming community representatives to participate in steering committees for the development of Green and Social Bond implementation according to the Climate Bonds Initiative.

The specific problem that this initiative aims to address is the communication, education, participation and awareness of stakeholders within Sango Bay Minziro Wetland using the  Sango Bay Minziro Carbon Villageprogram to accelerate the mitigation, adaptation and reversal of degradation of Sango Bay Minziro Wetland through green and social investment bonds. Through collaborative partnerships and projects which accelerate sustainable conservation activities to strengthen the resilience of the ecosystem.

We are at the prototype stage as we are currently engaged with testing the dynamics of the inclusive business model and collaborative partnerships with  team building, team meetings and memorandum of understandings including defining roles and responsibilities as well as  testing leadership commitment.

The citizen science program which forms part of the biodiversity data collection and analysis is currently live on the website and available through mobile technology, as well as the SME Forum and Schools Citizen Science portal which forms part of the early stages of the program.   

(1) Online portal which is managed by an enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology that integrates all the core operational functions including finance, risk, provisional services, regulating services, cultural services, SDG indicators, satellite and climate smart interventions in cloud. Also a SME hub for farmers which includes scalable conservation techniques for expanding their operations through  vertical farming. 

(2) We have developed community cooperative plant-based vertical farming techniques that utilise recycled materials such as plastic bags,  recycled big tents, fish nets, mosquitoes nets, discarded wood.  

The community cooperative vertical farm  operates through local communities specifically targeting women and young people to co-own the vertical farm and receive a share in the profit made from plant based farm produce. It helps to address inequality in access natural resources as well as  land ownership.

(2) Within our SME hub for smallholder farmers we have developed NABs (natural accounting business software). which is an interactive five year business analytical planning application tool that includes analytical analysis into SME enterprises. It can also be used for an investment showcase, for accounting, for performance review, business forecasting and it is free. Many smallholder farmers struggle with accounting which can hinder their understanding of their business performance. NABs  includes financial, economic, environmental and social data and comes with free training instructions.

Our prototype will phased into the main program by the end of the year reaching 50,000+ by next year 200,000+  and by year five 400,000+. 

This numbers will be reached through our collaborative partnerships and projects operating within the Sango Bay- Minziro Wetland.

SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

SDG 1.4 - Work towards the poor and the vulnerable, having equal rights to natural and economic resources by strengthening wise use of natural and economic resources.

SDG 1.5 - Build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events through education and awareness about wetland services and benefits.

SDG1.b -  Pro-poor and gender-sensitive accelerated investment by enhancing sustainability of projects and reversing wetland loss and degradation. 

SDG 2.3 - Work towards food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

SDG 2.4 -Work towards restoring ecosystems, strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change through mainstreaming wetland conservation through hands-on education and awareness.

SDG 2.5 - Work towards genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants, farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species

SDG 5.5 - Work towards women’s  participation in  leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life through hands-on education and awareness.

SDG 6.1 - Work towards increasing proportion of population having access to safe drinking water through water conservation activities  and mobilising investment.

SDG 6.2 - Work towards increasing sanitation through eco-toilets. Hygiene through education and awareness.

SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of  ecosystems.

Twelve members (pro-bono)

We have a passionate natural resource, biodiversity, wetlands, environmental agroforestry, environmental audit and finance and technological experts representing different organisations. Here is a summary of some of the key team members including Maro Andy Tola Ag. Regional Coordinator and substantive Program Officer for Water Resources Management & Development. Acting head of the Nile Basin Initiative/ Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program Coordination Unit (NBI/NELSAP-CU) for the implementation of the Subsidiary Action Programs. He contributes towards the realization of the objective of NELSAP which is to work towards the eradication of poverty, promotion of economic growth and reversal of environmental degradation. George Kavulunze, Interim Regional Coordinator, Global Water Partnership Eastern Africa responsible for coordinating 200 partnership organisations  operating in Burundi, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Ugandato to advance integrated water resources management at all levels for sustainable and inclusive growth. Sadiki Lotha Laiser, Environmental and Agroforestry Expert; Strengthening Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Songwe River Basin. Previously worked in the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Plan as well as a wild life conservationist in Tanzania. Fadeke Ayoola, Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant and Lead Environmental Auditor ISO 14001, manager at SAP working on big data, ERP and agribusiness. CEO and Founder of NET Africa.  Temitope Ayoola, head and technology authority at Vodafone UK, specialising in mobile technology and client interfaces. 

We have five  guiding principles that govern our team and wider work. 

• integrity - being straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships;
• objectivity - not allowing bias, conflicts of interest or undue influence of others to override professional or business judgements;
• professional competence and due care - to maintain professional knowledge and skill at a level required to ensure that a client or employer receives competent professional service based on current developments in practice, legislation and techniques, and act diligently and in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards;
• confidentiality - to respect the confidentiality of information acquired as a result of professional and business relationships and, therefore, not disclose any such information to third parties without proper and specific authority, unless there's a legal or professional right or duty to disclose, nor use the information for personal advantage.
• professional behaviour - to comply with relevant laws and regulations and avoid any action that discredits our work.

On the issue of inclusion, we have a financial inclusion and gender investment policy clearly stating out Investment approach to formalizing the informal economy for women. Facilitating the transition of female workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy, while respecting female workers’ fundamental rights and ensuring opportunities for income security, livelihoods and entrepreneurship;

Promoting creation, preservation and sustainability of enterprises and decent jobs in the formal economy and the coherence of macroeconomic, employment, social protection and other social policies; and
(c) Prevent the informalization of formal economy jobs for women.
(d) All female workers and economic units – including enterprises, entrepreneurs and households.
(e) The promotion of investment strategies for sustainable development, and inclusive growth, and the generation of decent jobs in the formal economy.

To address the issues that are preventing and hindering ecosystem restoration with particular reference 

We have a great need to reach out to the public.

In-kind donations for mobile phones for our citizen science problem in schools. 

Community cooperative Vertical Plant Farming 

• communication, education, participation and awareness on how to make a community pop-up vertical farm using recycled materials in partnership with local businesses and NGO’s who may donate pro-bono time to guide the building or donate recycled materials such as plastic piping and sheets. Vertical farming can be particularly useful for women who contribute 80% of farm work but own little land. Vertical farming does not require a lot of land space as the plants are staked vertically. 
• We have developed community cooperative plant-based vertical farming techniques that utilise recycled materials such as plastic bags,  recycled big tents, fish nets, mosquitoes nets, discarded wood.  
  The community cooperative vertical farm  operates through local communities specifically targeting women and young people to co-own the vertical farm and receive a share in the profit made from plant based farm produce. It helps to address inequality in access natural resources as well as  land ownership.