Ahueni

With a commitment to make a lasting change for communities and the environment, the Summa Foundation (“Foundation") focuses on issues such as education, gender inequality, biodiversity loss, climate change, and supporting disadvantaged individuals.

The Foundation engages with local organizations, governments, and other stakeholders to achieve the mission of contributing to society and protecting the planet. One of these engagements is with Ahueni, a climate finance project developer in the Maasai Mara, Kenya.

Ahueni AG is a consortium of five impact investors, including the Summa Foundation, each with equal shares in the company. The company is founded on no-dividend (not-for-profit) principles. The idea behind Ahueni is to engage capital in climate finance projects, primarily to contribute to transparency and quality in these projects, then to source carbon credits on behalf of its network of affiliated companies. Read more on ahueni.net.

The iconic Maasai Mara ecosystem, renowned for its rich biodiversity and its great variety of wildlife, is increasingly challenged by the immense pressure on the land. This is due to the compounded effects of rapid population growth and overgrazing by livestock.

Although the Maasai Mara National Reserve is protected as a National Park, the surrounding area is just as vital to the overall ecosystem balance. These are the main areas of habitation of the indigenous Maasai people, who are not allowed to live in the National Reserve.

Overgrazing, a direct consequence of livestock proliferation, is severely impacting the Mara's fragile ecosystem.

The excessive grazing pressure is stripping the land of its natural vegetation, exposing the soil to the harsh elements. This loss of vegetation cover not only diminishes the quality and availability of pastureland, but also leads to significant soil erosion.

The topsoil, once rich in nutrients and vital for both flora and fauna, is being eroded at an alarming rate. This erosion is further exacerbated by the region's seasonal heavy rains, which wash away the now unprotected soil, leading to further degradation of the land.

Through photosynthesis and the natural cycle of regeneration and growth, green plants continuously remove carbon from the air. In contrast, when disturbed by deforestation or agricultural tilling of the soil, carbon is released into the air.

Natural grazing patterns by wildlife are usually not detrimental to carbon sinks – on the contrary, this natural cycle promotes healthy soil. However, livestock who are allowed to graze the existing grass to depletion will quickly deteriorate an area, and periods of drought will add to the deterioration.

The challenge in the Maasai Mara ecosystem is therefore to protect what is left of old forests, and to find solutions where livestock can graze in ways allowing grass to rest and regain its strength. Cattle are the cornerstone of the Maasai culture and management practices must be developed with and by the Maasai to promote a win-win situation; healthier grass means healthier cattle.

Engagement and empowerment

The success in maintaining a balanced ecosystem hinges on actively engaging the local Maasai communities in conservation efforts. With as many as 17,000 landowners throughout the Maasai Mara, a collaborative framework where the community members participate in decision-making processes ensures that their needs and knowledge are respected and integrated within the conservation strategies. Ultimately, they are the custodians of the land, and their generational understanding of its complexities is central to its long-term health.

Improving livestock and grazing management

Ahueni, recognizing the invaluable strength of community involvement, leverages this collective framework to advance a holistic and sustainable grassland management approach in the Mara, ensuring a harmonious balance between ecological preservation and the well-being of the communities.

By carefully managing the number of livestock grazing in each area, overgrazing will be reduced, and the land capacity preserved. This, in combination with rotational grazing practices, will over time allow eroded topsoil to regenerate with stronger grass cover and increased ability to retain water.

Combined grazing of livestock and wildlife

The approach also reintroduces the combined grazing of livestock and wildlife in which herding livestock while allowing wildlife to freely roam and graze is a mutually beneficial solution. Wildlife, with their natural movements and feeding patterns, complement livestock food preferences, preventing unwanted overgrowth and preserving the open grassland.

However, in recent years, livestock and wildlife have been separated. Thus, by carefully combining livestock and wildlife grazing, one can restore the soil that has been eroded. This solution has been practiced between the Maasai and wildlife throughout centuries but is currently challenged by the growing population and scarcity of suitable land.

Carbon finance

As the soil is restored, natural photosynthesis increases, ultimately improving the sequestration of carbon. Thus, the process of returning degraded land (in its current state due to uncontrolled grazing) to thriving land through sustainable grassland management activities is aligned with the UN framework that supports projects that improve the sequestration of carbon through nature-based projects. The results are measured as year-over-year increases of soil carbon, which generate revenues for the community through sales of so-called carbon credits. This source of revenue is a key component to incentivize landowners to participate in managed grazing programs.

The Enonkishu Conservancy, located at the northern edge of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, has crafted a conservation strategy that respects local cultural values. Straddling the line between human settlements and fertile farmland and the Wildlife Conservancies, Enonkishu serves as a model for sustainable rangeland management. By fostering diverse income sources through various eco-tourism approaches and leveraging cattle rearing as an enterprise, this model showcases how conservation can yield benefits by harmonizing the coexistence of humans, wildlife, and livestock. The conservancy's ethos is visually represented on the walls of the Enonkishu demonstration site, where Ahueni and CI play key roles in generating "carbon revenue."

In simple terms, managed grazing means that an allowed number of livestock is herded and permitted to graze in selected areas called grazing blocks. Once an area is chosen, livestock graze freely within the grazing block during the day. At night, the animals are herded into a restricted compound, so-called “bomas”. The bomas will not only protect against predators, but the livestock also benefit from being close together as the temperature drops during the night while their droppings will be stumped into the soil, naturally enriching it.

This simple process is quickly promoting healthier soil with improved grass-cover and ability to retain water as a result. Gradually, the soil increases its ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and the circle is complete.

In areas where these practices are implemented, results are quickly gained, including:

• Improved grass-cover

• Improved water retention

• Improved capacity for next round of controlled grazing

• Increased influx of wildlife, of all kinds, from insects and birds to mammals and predators

In other words, a positive and natural circle is set in constant motion, one which benefits the wildlife, livestock, communities, and environment.