Protecting Indigenous Land Rights: Capacity Building for Maasai Leaders on Carbon Markets
- International Lawyers Project
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Maeve E. McDermott, Legal Fellow at International Lawyers Project
Across East Africa, Indigenous communities are increasingly being approached by carbon market actors, who are seeking to develop carbon offset projects on their ancestral lands. These carbon market actors include companies, non-profits, NGOs, and sometimes government agencies that design, implement or manage projects that generate carbon credits. In particular, Kenya’s Southern rangelands and Northeast Tanzania - both areas which are home to the Maasai Indigenous Peoples - contain significant carbon sinks that have attracted interest. However, Indigenous community members often lack the legal knowledge needed to assert their land rights and meaningfully participate in carbon market processes. This knowledge gap leaves local and Indigenous communities vulnerable to exploitation by carbon market actors and to their exclusion from decision-making processes regarding carbon offset projects on their ancestral lands.
To bridge this capacity gap, on 30th and 31st October 2025, the International Lawyers Project (ILP) partnered with the Nalala Tree Foundation to deliver a two-day training workshop for Maasai representatives from Kajiado and Narok in Kenya and from Loliondo, Munduli and Ngorongoro in Tanzania. This training continues ILP’s work both on building legal capacity of Maasai Communities in Kenya and building capacity of NGOs, civil society and government officials to engage effectively with Kenya’s carbon market mechanisms.
Led by barristers Margherita Cornaglia and Natasha Jackson from Landmark Chambers (London, UK), and Advocate Soinei Parseina, Managing Partner of Parseina Soinei & Co. Advocates (Kitengela, Kenya), the training included expert-led sessions, participatory discussions, and practical demonstrations on carbon markets, community land rights, and advancing inclusive climate solutions through a just transition. It aimed to strengthen participants’ understanding of land ownership laws, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) protocols, climate-related laws and voluntary carbon markets, enabling them to more effectively defend their land rights amidst ongoing carbon market development projects.
Carbon Markets in Kenya: Impacts on Indigenous Peoples and ILP’s Support
Under Kenya’s Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations, 2024, all authorised carbon projects must comply with ‘ecological, social, cultural and economic safeguards’. If a carbon project occurs on public or community land, developers must enter into community development agreements and are obliged to ‘involve local communities in the project conceptualization and development’. If an Indigenous community has title to the community land, then projects on that land further require developers to ‘provide documentation of [the] free, prior and informed consent’. However, international law states that FPIC is required for any development project regardless of whether the Indigenous community has title to the land or not, in recognition of their inherent rights over their ancestral land.
As regulations and structures for carbon markets evolve, ILP’s Environment and Sustainable Development programme supports Indigenous and local communities by building their capacity to engage with governments and project developers to ensure that proposed carbon projects align with their land and environmental rights.
Empowering Maasai Agency in Carbon Offset Project Negotiations
On the first day of the training, Soinei Parseina delivered a comprehensive overview of land ownership and land rights in Kenya, tracing the evolution of land tenure in Kenya from the pre-colonial period through the colonial and post-colonial periods. The sessions explored Kenya’s Constitutional provisions and domestic laws governing land ownership, land use, and land administration, registration and management. Participants also learned about the collective right of FPIC and the role FPIC plays in safeguarding communities against displacement and exploitation. The sessions aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity to defend land rights in Kenya by offering practical guidance on effective public participation and the application of FPIC in real-world contexts. The importance of climate change laws and opportunities to engage meaningfully in climate-related processes were also emphasised.
On the second day of the training, Margherita Cornaglia and Natasha Jackson delivered an overview of climate change and its causes. They examined global greenhouse gas emissions by country and illustrated climate impacts through examples such as drought in the Horn of Africa and ‘supercharged’ typhoon seasons in the Philippines. They also highlighted the rise in climate-related litigation aimed at holding major emitters accountable under the ‘polluter pays’ principle. This is both an economic and legal principle providing that the polluter should bear the cost of pollution, which often includes the costs of restoring the polluted environment, as well as the health costs of affected individuals.
During this session, the trainers discussed the increasing economic costs associated with climate-related disasters, highlighting the urgent need for both mitigation and adaptation measures worldwide. They also provided an overview of the international climate change regime, focusing on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. The training then turned to a detailed explanation of carbon credits, including the distinction between carbon reduction and carbon removal credits, and the functioning of carbon markets.
Participants benefited from practical guidance on carbon markets, contracts and negotiation strategies. The trainers emphasised the importance of safeguarding community rights and inclusivity in decision-making when engaging with carbon market actors. An interactive question and answer session allowed participants to explore certain concepts in greater depth, including how carbon emissions are quantified, how carbon credits are valued, and the potential impacts of carbon projects.
The Way Forward: Indigenous Rights in a Just Transition
The training strengthened participants’ understanding of the intersection between human rights, climate governance, land tenure, and the evolving carbon market landscape. It also deepened their knowledge of Indigenous land and environmental rights in Kenya, including the obligation of carbon project developers to obtain Indigenous Peoples’ FPIC prior to undertaking carbon projects on community land for which the Indigenous People have title. The sessions equipped Maasai community leaders with practical tools needed to advocate for these rights and to engage meaningfully with carbon market actors.
Overall, the training represented an important step toward strengthening community capacity to engage with carbon market actors and other project developers in an informed and rights-based manner. It highlighted the need for continued collaboration and learning to ensure that Indigenous Peoples are well-positioned to participate in decisions affecting their lands, culture, and livelihoods. ILP will continue supporting the Maasai and other relevant stakeholders to engage effectively with carbon market actors and to participate meaningfully in just transition processes, ensuring that community land rights are safeguarded.
For more information on ILP’s work environment and sustainable development and how we can help, please contact us at contact@internationallawyersproject.org.
This training was made possible through the support of the Accountability Accelerator. You can support ILP’s work here.