Carbon Transparency
WildMon partners with carbon project developers to ensure that biodiversity co-benefits of carbon projects are monitored, evaluated, and transparently documented. We use various technologies to monitor wildlife on-the-ground in the project location and nearby baseline areas to show the project’s effectiveness in supporting local biodiversity.
© Trees for the Future
Assessing the biodiversity co-benefits of agroforestry systems in a Kenyan carbon project
We're using acoustic monitoring to evaluate how multi-strata agroforestry parcels, called Forest Gardens, impact biodiversity in western Kenya compared to conventional farming.
This project will use acoustic monitoring and AI species detection models to assess changes in wildlife species presence and distribution as agricultural land is regenerated in carbon-credited Forest Gardens.
Application
Timeline
Scope
Location
Partners
2024 - ongoing
123 sites
Lake Victoria region, Kenya
Contributions
Sustainable development
goals
Bioacoustic survey design
Trainings for local partners
Hardware (acoustics recorders)
Analysis of recordings for species detection
Soundscape analysis
Acoustic species classification AI model
Ecological modeling
About the project
Our study will deploy acoustic recorders at 123 sites across Kisumu, Homa Bay, and Migori Counties near Lake Victoria. The sites are a mix of traditional farming (single-crop, clear-cut land), Forest Gardens (agroforestry), and primary forest (from a nearby protected area). We will develop AI models to automatically detect species from recordings.
By comparing species richness and composition across various site types—agricultural land, Forest Gardens at different stages, and natural forest—we aim to demonstrate how multi-strata agroforestry can positively influence biodiversity. We will do annual sampling over a four-year period to determine how the Forest Gardens affect local wildlife over time as they mature.
Tracy Bain
Head of Monitoring & Engagement, Catona Climate
“Bringing more credibility and transparency to the carbon markets means pushing the boundaries of monitoring and reporting on our impact — not just the climate impact of mitigating GHG emissions, but also the effects of our projects on local communities and ecosystems. By partnering with WildMon, we’re able to utilize this cutting-edge bioacoustic technology to provide critical insights into the project’s impact on local biodiversity.”
Impact goals
This project, co-developed and co-designed by Catona Climate and Trees for the Future, is centered around TREES’ Forest Garden Approach, which provides farmers with training in multi-strata agroforestry and sustainable land use practices. The project provides training and support to 18,000+ farmers in the Lake Victoria watershed, resulting in thousands of hectares of regenerative agroforestry land. Farmers benefit not only from the carbon credit revenue but also from increased income through crop sales, improved access to nutritious foods, and enhanced soil health. The project is registered under Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) label. Our bioacoustic monitoring offers an improved way for biodiversity co-benefits to be documented transparently, scalably, and which complements the carbon credit process.
