Kajiado communities resist carbon offset land grabs disguised as climate action - Greenpeace Africa
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Nairobi, Kenya
— In a bold act of resistance, the Oldonyonyokie Group Ranch community in Kajiado County is pushing back against the latest wave of land grabs masquerading as climate action. The community is standing firm against carbon offset projects that threaten to displace Indigenous People and undermine centuries-old land rights, all in the name of so-called “climate finance.”
At the center of the growing controversy are carbon market schemes promoted by companies such as Carbon Solve, Soil for the Future Africa, and Soil for the Future Tanzania. These entities are targeting community lands in Kajiado for carbon offsetting, continuing a trend already devastating communities across the border in Tanzania.
In Tanzania’s Ngorongoro, Loliondo, Longido and Monduli, the Maasai are being violently evicted from their ancestral lands to make way for similar schemes.
“This is climate colonialism, plain and simple,” said Amos Wemanya, Responsive Campaign Lead at Greenpeace Africa. “Communities that have lived in harmony with nature for generations are being pushed off their land so that foreign polluters can continue business as usual. Carbon offsetting is not a climate solution, it is a dangerous distraction that sells off our future.”
Rather than reducing global emissions, carbon markets allow corporations, largely based in the Global North, to “offset” pollution through land grabs in the Global South. These schemes put a price tag on nature and make African communities bear the burden of a crisis they did not create, while enriching foreign middlemen and questionable local entities.
The people of Oldonyonyokie have a long memory and are not easily deceived. They recall
the case of Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd
, which was granted an initial 99-year lease on community land in 1928, and later received a 40-year extension in 2004. The lease, which involved over 224,000 acres, has long been a source of tension, with local communities raising concerns about inadequate consultation and limited benefits to the Maasai people.
Disturbingly, some government officials are being used by the national government to facilitate the leasing and selling of land to private entities, without transparent community consultation or consent. This undermines democratic processes and violates the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Greenpeace Africa calls on Soil for the Future Africa and similar actors to immediately halt any attempts to force or impose projects on communities. Respect for Indigenous rights and community self-determination is non-negotiable.
This is not just a local issue, it’s part of a global pattern of injustice. Greenpeace Africa is urging international solidarity and swift action to put an end to land grabs disguised as climate action. True climate solutions must protect people, not profits. That means:
Ending land grabs and forced evictions in the name of carbon offsetting
Protecting indigenous land rights and community livelihoods
Upholding real climate justice that centers food, energy, and land sovereignty
Holding historical polluters accountable for real emissions cuts
From Kajiado to Loliondo, communities are saying: enough is enough. Africa is not for sale,” said Wemanya. “We call for a transition away from exploitative offsetting schemes toward climate solutions that center justice, local sovereignty, and real emissions cuts”.
Greenpeace Africa stands in solidarity with the Oldonyonyokie Group Ranch and all African communities defending their land, dignity, and future against false climate solutions.
ENDS
For media inquiries, please contact:
Sherie Gakii, Communications and Storytelling Manager, Greenpeace Africa,
[email protected]
, +254702776749
Greenpeace Africa Press Desk,
[email protected]
Energy
GreenpeaceAfrica
Kenya
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