Description

Excerpt: Soil carbon sequestration has the potential to provide significant economic and environmental benefits to communities in semi-arid regions around the world. Increased levels of carbon enhance soil fertility and water retention capacity, leading to higher agricultural productivity. Communities also can obtain financial incentives through carbon trading programs. However, the realization of these benefits and incentives requires more than technical capacity. It calls for communities to organize themselves to implement land use practices at a scale broad enough to participate in such trading programs. Participating communities must demonstrate continuity and

consistency with program rules and must account precisely for effects on the environment. They must also negotiate effectively with outsiders and allocate revenues equitably within their boundaries. These challenges are particularly daunting to communities in the West African Sahel, where natural resources are subject to multiple claims by diverse users, such as farmers and herders. Conflicts among overlapping land tenure systems and administrative jurisdictions further complicate the

picture.