The carbon credit certifier Verra has placed the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project under review for a second time, it confirmed to Mongabay in an emailed statement. Until the review is completed, the project will not be permitted to sell any credits it generates through its model of managing livestock grazing routes. The decision is a blow to the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), a Kenya-based conservation organization that coordinates the network of community wildlife conservancies participating in the carbon project.
In January, a Kenyan court ruled that two conservancies with ties to NRT were established illegally and without adequate public participation. One of them, the Biliqo Bulesa Conservancy, creates credits by mapping out seasonal grazing routes for goats, cattle and other livestock in the region.
Corporate clients, including Meta and Netflix, have collectively purchased carbon credits worth tens of millions since the project was established in 2012.
The court case was brought by 165 pastoralists from Isiolo county in northern Kenya, who said the conservancy’s leadership hadn’t carried out proper consultations before registering it in 2007. Verra told Mongabay the three-judge panel’s decision was the reason the project was suspended.
“The project proponent, Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), is involved in a legal case that resulted in a court ruling in January 2025. NRT subsequently sought a stay of the decision while it appeals that decision; however, we understand that the stay has been dismissed. Therefore, Verra has moved to formally place the project on hold,” a spokesperson told Mongabay.
This is the second time the controversial project has been placed under review by Verra. In 2023, carbon credit issuance was suspended after advocacy groups raised questions over the project’s methodology, but a few months later it was reinstated.
Although the other conservancies that participate in the project weren’t directly affected by the court’s ruling, analysts say it established a precedent that could be used to challenge the legality of the conservancies as well. Supporters of the carbon project say its closure would deprive participating communities in northern Kenya of much-needed funds for social services like scholarships and health facilities.
Opponents say the carbon verification methodology is too flawed to guarantee climate benefits, and that the conservancies were established without the consent of the people, many Indigenous, who live inside them.
Verra said the project is now under review for any “material non-conformances” with its rules on carbon credit certification.
The project’s developer, a climate-focused corporation called Native, told Mongabay it expects Verra’s review will result in a second reinstatement.
“As with the previous Section 6 review, which concluded with all findings closed and credit issuance reinstated, we are engaging constructively with Verra and expect a similarly transparent and timely process,” a Native spokesperson said in an email.
Banner image: A man herds goats in the town of Gotu in Isiolo county, Kenya. Image by Ashoka Mukpo/Mongabay.
