Isiolo Court Rules Against NRT Conservancies in Landmark Carbon Credits Case

A court in Isiolo on Monday declared the Northern Rangelands Trust’s (NRT) “Community Conservancies” illegal, ruling that their operations violated constitutional rights and exploited local communities under the guise of conservation.

The judgment found that NRT’s activities restricted access to grazing land and water points, depriving communities in Chari Ward, Cherab Ward, and Merti Sub-County of vital resources for their pastoral livelihoods.

The court cited Articles 40 and 63 of the Constitution, affirming that the affected land belongs to the community and cannot be managed without their consent. The ruling comes weeks after a recent Deutsche Welle documentary that exposed NRT’s controversial carbon offsetting project. The project has been criticized for failing to provide any meaningful benefits to the communities while undermining their land rights and way of life.

The documentary claims that there is no credible evidence of the project’s positive environmental impact, calling it “blood carbon.” Activists have been campaigning against NRT, alleging that the organization limits grazing areas for pastoralists and employs rangers accused of human rights violations.

Some reports suggest that locals have been forced off their lands, attacked and even killed in the name of conservation.

Despite these allegations, NRT continues to secure funding from major international donors like the European Commission, AFD France, and USAID. It also sells carbon credits to corporations such as Meta and Netflix, allowing them to greenwash their public image.

Critics argue that the model enriches conservation organizations while marginalizing Indigenous communities and compromising their livelihoods. The Isiolo court maintained that NRT’s operations ignored constitutional and statutory land ownership laws while failing to recognize the cultural and economic significance of the land to local residents.

It directed NRT to comply with community land ownership rights, granting them 14 days to appeal the decision. Community members have welcomed the ruling as a historic step toward protecting their ancestral lands and livelihoods.