Climate Commons Fund - Laikipia, Kenya
The Climate Commons Fund project aims to reward and catalyse existing conservation practices in Il Ngwesi Conservancy in Laikipia County, Kenya, accelerating livelihood diversification through the removal of financial barriers and creating equitable incentives for climate action through the establishment of a community-owned fund.
In doing so, it offers a replicable, sustainable model for funding Cash for Conservation and getting climate finance directly to people and communities – addressing the integrity and distributional challenges of conditional and market-based initiatives, and the long-term financial viability of unconditional cash transfers.
An innovative solution to finance Cash for Conservation
How it works
This pilot project will focus on Il Ngwesi Community Conservancy, a community-managed rangeland in Laikipia. It will have two distinct, interrelated components:
1. All adult members of Il Ngwesi will receive an unconditional cash transfer for a period of two years. The payment will be designed to support existing community conservation goals, aid household adaptation and catalyse livelihood diversification. Payments will be stewarded through labelling, seasonal timing, behavioural nudges and complementary education and support services.
2. A fund, endowed initially with donor capital, will be established and invested, generating returns that will be used to pay a universal, unconditional ‘Conservation Dividend’ to every adult in Il Ngwesi, after the initial 2 year transfers end.
This project addresses the pressing need for innovative models of conservation and nature finance, rooted in justice and local ownership. Positioning communities as central stewards and beneficiaries of conservation, it offers a replicable mechanism to scale within Laikipia’s 30 conservancies and other ecologically vulnerable regions across the world.
You can read more about the project in the concept note below.
Find out more
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Consultation process
We’ve spent the last 6 months engaging and co-designing this project with over 1,100 residents of Il Ngwesi. The community share their thoughts in the blog post below.
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Case for Support
Find out more about why this project is needed, our timeline, budget and how you can support it below in our case for support document.
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Cash for Conservation
Find out more about the ideas behind this project, and how you can get involved in the Cash for Conservation movement.
Our partners
We’re working with a number of partners to make this project happen, find out more about each of them below