Carbon Credits - Is it Indigenous People vs Offset Schemes?

An international non-governmental organisation which campaigns for the rights of indigenous peoples who use traditional methods of making their living is challenging the way in which a project designed to combat climate change is being implemented across vast tracts of northern Kenya.

The challenge by the London-based campaign group, Survival International, is just the latest development in renewed focus by rights groups on the way in which the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa are impacted by schemes to combat the rising global temperatures which are fuelling destructive climate crisis.

Carbon dioxide is the most important of the greenhouse gases which prevent heat from the earth from rising into space, instead causing temperatures to increase and generating global warming. Carbon offset schemes are designed to enable the producers of carbon dioxide, typically in industrialised countries, to compensate for their excess emissions by "buying" credits from those who reduce their emissions.

While there is still much work to be done to address the challenges faced by indigenous peoples in Africa, there is a growing recognition of their rights, and some positive steps have been taken at both the national and regional levels.