Ecopreneur Movement Miombo Woodland Restoration

The Ecopreneur Movement: Miombo Woodland Restoration Project in Zambia, developed by Community Climate Solutions (CCS) and brought to market by Climate Impact Partners, will harness carbon finance to help 240,000 Zambians build resilient livelihoods, while removing up to 2 million tonnes of CO2 every year by 2030, generating CCP-approved nature-based removals credits with additional ABACUS and co-benefit quality labels for corporate buyers. 

Unlike traditional top-down approaches, this project is driven by communities and farmers – both the beneficiaries and the changemakers. These “Ecopreneurs” are restoring degraded miombo woodlands, a critical carbon sink, through a combination of tree planting, sustainable farming, and fire prevention, all designed to ensure long-term environmental and economic resilience. 

In Zambia, agriculture is the largest source of employment. Building upon 20+ years of local experience, the CCS team takes a holistic ecosystem approach to working with communities to restore the degraded Miombo Woodlands and create additional financial opportunity for local farmers to become Ecopreneurs. 

These Ecopreneurs are not beneficiaries. They are the drivers of the project. They will address environmental decline through a combination of fire prevention, tree planting, and sustainable farming practices. But families don’t have to wait for that moment to start earning. Innovative funding structures mean that farmers come first at every stage of the project. Operational costs are funded upfront by CCS. In addition, farm and community payments for eco-services are made ahead of carbon revenues by CCS – with the revenues not expected until 2027. As a result, 25,000 Ecopreneurs are already engaged in these activities, with a further 25,000 in the pipeline. 

Ecopreneur activities to restore the Miombo Woodlands: 

• Agroforestry tree planting to increase tree cover and soil health
• Fire prevention and assisted natural regeneration 
• Grazing management of livestock 

Project activities are monitored on the ground and via satellite technology, with ecological outcomes – such as fire reduction and tree cover gain. Financial transparency is also built in. Project revenues will be tracked, published, and independently audited, providing a level of accountability rarely seen in the carbon market. All this is designed to give credit buyers confidence in both the climate impact and the social outcomes that their purchase supports.   

The project is being registered under the new CCP-approved VM0047 methodology and will apply for ABACUS and co-benefit labels from Verra to further validate its quality for corporate buyers.

This nature-based carbon removal project takes urgent action to combat climate change (SDG 13). In addition, the project is expected to deliver a number of other sustainable development benefits. These include:

• No Poverty: Increase household income by sharing revenue from carbon credit sales with participating communities.
• Zero Hunger: Boost crop yields and productivity through improved land management.
• Quality Education: Provide training in agroforestry and land management to build farmers’ skills and support sustainable development.
• Decent Work & Economic Growth: Help farmers manage carbon income, improve access to credit, create jobs, and strengthen community financial sustainability.
• Climate Action: Cut emissions from poor land use and fires, restore degraded areas, and enhance carbon storage in soils and woody biomass.
• Life on Land: Restore Miombo Woodlands by planting native trees.