Landscape Restoration · Nature-Based Enterprises · Carbon Credits

Forest Futures

A grouped afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) carbon project restoring degraded jhum fallow in Tseminyu and Longleng, Nagaland, in partnership with LEMSACHENLOK and CarbonMarketsHQ.

  • 10,000ha
    Target by 2031
  • 40yrs
    Crediting period
  • 3.59M
    tCO₂e removals, ex-ante
Scroll
Overview

Kenono is restoring degraded jhum land with native forest, working through the customary Naga indigenous institutions, so that the benefits stay with the community.

StandardVerra VCS v4.7
MethodologyVM0047
Project typeGrouped ARR
Timeline2026 to 2066
The programme in numbers

Designed for scale, pace, and permanence.

Over the 40-year crediting period the project is estimated, ex-ante, to remove about 3.59 million tCO₂e, net of uncertainty, leakage, and buffer deductions.

0ha

Target area by 2031, with a longer-term vision of up to 30,000 hectares as further communities enrol.

0years

Crediting period, 2026 to 2066.

0M tCO₂e

Estimated ex-ante net removals over the crediting period.

0ha

15 hectares each in Tseminyu and Longleng, planted in June 2026.

0tCO₂e / ha / yr

Average removals per hectare per year across the full 10,000 hectares.

0% women

Target among trained community monitors, integrating traditional ecological knowledge.

Mist over forested ridges of the project landscape Cleared jhum slopes with charred stumps Dead standing trees on cleared land A staked seedling growing among tall grass
Jhum cycleTraditional rotation
The land

Forest that has been used for slash-and-burn agriculture.

Naga tribes have cultivated these hills under the jhum system as a local form of agroforestry: a plot is cleared, burned, and cropped, then left to fallow and recover in 40 to 50 year cycles.

The pressure

The resting period between burns has collapsed.

With increasing population and economic pressure the jhum cycle has shortened dramatically. Land is now burnt and cultivated every 5 to 10 years, depleting soils and accelerating deforestation across the region.

The loss

Nagaland has among the fastest rates of forest loss in India.

Nagaland’s forest cover, about 52% of the state, is falling at close to 1% of total forest area every year.

The response

Regenerate fallowed land. Prevent new jhum areas.

Kenono is restoring and regenerating jhum lands through thoughtful, community-centred afforestation. By providing alternative livelihoods and income streams, the project also prevents jhum from spreading to new areas.

The vision

Ecological restoration through agroforestry.

Kenono is planting native trees at about 600 trees per hectare, with coffee or crops grown in between. This way, farming continues while the fallowed land becomes forest and reconnects fragmented Community Conserved Areas (CCAs).

Stage 1

The fallow land

Identifying and mapping degraded jhum (shifting cultivation) and deforested landscapes across villages.

Stage 2

Agroforestry integration

Planting native and keystone species during the monsoon alongside viable crops like coffee, so conservation does not compete with human survival.

Stage 3

The corridor

The restored lands physically connect existing fragmented CCAs, enabling wildlife movement, food-source ecology, and landscape-level resilience.

Biodiversity corridor blueprint
The pilot

Kenono initiated a proof of concept in 2026.

In June 2026 Kenono planted 15 hectares across three sites in Tseminyu District, five hectares each at Tsensun, Khakhili, and Phenshunyu, to prove the nursery, planting, and monitoring system before the project scales.

Tsensun5 ha
Khakhili5 ha
Phenshunyu5 ha
Implementation

From seed to verification, Kenono leads the work.

Aerial view of jhum parcels on hill slopesGIS delineation · satellite history
Step 1

Site identification, baseline, and t-zero inventory

Each parcel is delineated in GIS, its ten-year-plus non-forest history is demonstrated with satellite imagery, and a t-zero carbon-stock inventory covering biomass and soil organic carbon is completed before planting.

Community nursery · seed bank
Step 2

Nursery development and seedling procurement

Native seeds are collected near the Nzü and Nra river valleys, treated, and documented in a community seed bank, and raised locally into seedlings through their first year.

A cleared slope with charred stumps before plantingMinimal disturbance · no burning
Step 3

Site preparation

Sites are prepared with minimal disturbance: charred stumps and undergrowth are cleared, soils are tested, and organic amendments are applied where needed.

Monsoon planting · May to September
Step 4

Planting

Native seedlings are planted by hand during the monsoon, May to September, with spacing adjusted to slope and canopy, and no burning at any stage.

A young seedling established on a slopeYears 1 to 3 · gap filling
Step 5

Maintenance, replanting, and protection

Gaps are filled and seedlings replaced through the first three years, supported by firebreaks, grazing exclusion, and assisted natural regeneration.

A community monitor in a Community Biodiversity and Wildlife Protection Force jacket looking over the hillsPermanent plots · dMRV · VVB audit
Step 6

Monitoring, verification, and certification

Permanent sample plots are inventoried before each verification, alongside soil sampling, remote sensing for the Stocking Index and community monitoring data, with results assessed by an independent third-party auditor (VVB).

The species pool

Our communities co-created the species planting list.

Native species were selected for long-term carbon sequestration, ecosystem benefits, and livelihood value. Seeds were collected in the community forests of the Nzü and Nra river valleys and raised in community nurseries.

Community nursery · native seedlings raised from locally collected seed
PioneerGmelina arboreaGamariFast-growing pioneer; early canopy and shade for slower species.
PioneerDuabanga grandifloraKhokonFast-growing pioneer; early canopy and shade for slower species.
PioneerAlnus nepalensisAlderNitrogen-fixing pioneer long used in Naga jhum fallows.
PioneerErythrina variegataIndian coral treeFast-growing pioneer; early canopy and shade for slower species.
TimberTerminalia myriocarpaHollockCanopy timber species; long-term carbon stock.
TimberChukrasia tabularisChickrassyCanopy timber species; long-term carbon stock.
TimberSchima wallichiiNeedlewoodCanopy timber species; long-term carbon stock.
TimberMagnolia champacaChampaCanopy timber species; long-term carbon stock.
TimberQuercus serrataOakCanopy timber species; long-term carbon stock.
AgroforestryAreca catechuAreca nutGrown between native trees for household income.
AgroforestryCitrus reticulataMandarin orangeGrown between native trees for household income.
AgroforestryMelia dubiaMalabar neemGrown between native trees for household income.
NTFPNative medicinal and NTFP plantsVarious speciesNon-timber forest products harvested without felling.
A Naga elder standing in tall grass on a hillside
Land tenure

The community owns the land, and with it the carbon asset the forest creates.

The land is held by the participating communities under Article 371A of the Constitution of India. The project proponents and implementation partners act as partners who help the community develop, verify, and bring that asset to market.

Land enrolment to date

Nearly 6,000 hectares are already mapped.

0ha
Mapped in Tseminyu District
0ha
Mapped in Longleng District
0ha
Secured under CRPA
10,000ha
Target by 2031
Tseminyu Longleng Nagaland
The path ahead
2022
A community meeting on a hillside
2022 to 2025

Planning with the communities

Years of consultation and groundwork with the communities of the project zone, with particular attention to impacts on women, children, marginalised, and vulnerable people.

A facilitator addressing a seated community group
January 2025

Local Stakeholder Consultations

Formal LSC meetings begin across the project zone to start official project design, including crop design, species selection, and benefits distribution.

Seedlings under a shade net in a community nursery
June 2025

Nursery development

Community nurseries established, raising native seedlings from seed collected in the community forests of the Nzü and Nra river valleys and documented in a community seed bank.

Planting team gathered at a project site sign
June 2026

First planting

A 30-hectare pilot, 15 hectares each in Tseminyu and Longleng, planted.

A basket of native seedlings ready for planting
By 2031

Project achieves full scale

The project scales to 10,000 hectares by 2031, substantially complete by 2030, as further communities enrol.

A community member planting a seedling on a forested slope
Around 2052

Peak issuance

Annual issuance follows a bell-shaped curve, peaking near 117,000 tCO₂e.

Mature forest on the hills of Nagaland
2066

Crediting period ends

A longer-term vision of up to 30,000 hectares as further communities enrol.

Indicative annual issuance, ex-ante · tCO₂e per year · bell-shaped curve peaking near 117,000 around 2052 · 3.59M total over 2026 to 2066

Benefit sharing

How the value comes back to the village.

Two channels. Wages are paid as the work happens. The Community Fund is paid once removals are verified, credited, and sold.

Direct payment for labourWages

Paid directly for the work

Nursery, planting, and maintenance wages go straight to the community members who do the work, from the first season.

Households

Income through the transition

Earnings continue while the fallow becomes forest and crops grow between the trees.

Village-level community fund through carbon credit incomeVerification

Removals are verified

Permanent sample plots, soil sampling, remote sensing, and community monitoring data are assessed by an independent third-party auditor (VVB).

Market

Credits are issued and sold

The project is credited for verified removals, and the credits are brought to market by the proponents.

Community Fund

The community share of net cash flow

Under the waterfall model, the community’s share of net credit revenue flows into the Community Fund.

VPMC · Gram Sabha

Allocated by village priorities

The Village Project Management Committee (VPMC) allocates the fund according to the priorities set by the Gram Sabha, the village general assembly.

Beyond carbon

The benefits reach beyond carbon.

The project is designed to strengthen local livelihoods and to restore the watersheds, soils, and biodiversity of the Indo-Burma Hotspot under Naga customary governance.

Ripe red coffee cherries on a branch
Livelihoods

Agroforestry, coffee, and NTFPs

Income through the transition away from jhum, with wages paid from year one.

A clear forest stream running between mossy boulders under dense canopy
Watersheds and soils

Restored slopes, held soils

Native canopy across the catchments of the Nzü and Nra river valleys.

Nagaland INDIA MYANMAR Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot
Biodiversity

The Indo-Burma Hotspot

Structurally diverse native forest, under Naga customary governance.

Roles and responsibilities

Four organisations, one community-owned project.

Kenono has partnered with global organisations to develop, verify, and bring the project’s credits to market, and works alongside LEMSACHENLOK, which delivers the Longleng side of the programme.

Implementation partner in Tseminyu DistrictKenono Foundation

A Rengma Naga community-led organisation promoted by the Zunpha Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd., with an established coffee value chain across 14 villages and 50 farmers.

Implementation partner in Longleng DistrictLEMSACHENLOK

“Friends of trees and wildlife”, founded 2012: more than 25,000 hectares of Biodiversity Peace Corridors under active community management across 50+ villages, recognised with the Whitley Award in 2021.

Lead proponentMicroEnergy Credits

More than fifteen years of carbon-project development experience across Asia and Africa.

Co-proponentCarbonMarketsHQ

Co-leads the project and supplies the dMRV platform for remote-sensing Stocking Index detection, field-data capture, biodiversity, and social monitoring, and reporting.

Field notes

From the nursery to the slope.

Consultations, seed collection, nursery work, and the first planting, photographed across Tseminyu and Longleng.

A community member speaking at a meeting01Consultation · questions from the floor
Community meeting on a cleared hillside02Meeting on the fallow
Packing seedlings in the nursery03Nursery · bagging seedlings
Women at a community consultation04Local stakeholder consultation
Seedlings under a shade net in the community nursery05Community nursery
Two planters smiling on the slope06Planting day · Tseminyu
Loading seedlings onto a truck07Seedlings leaving the nursery
Carrying seedlings up a slope08Carrying seedlings to site
Carrying a basket of seedlings09Seedlings in baskets
Community members gathered on a hillside for a consultation10Consultation on the hillside
Handing a seedling to a planter11Planting day
The planting team gathered at the Tsensun site sign12Tsensun · site FF-TSE-001
Women collecting seed from cut branches beside a forest stream13Seed collection · by the stream
Four pairs of hands holding freshly collected tree seed14Wild seed, collected by hand