International Comparative Studies How other forest countries regulate carbon rights and markets : lessons for Ghana from Liberia, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Australia

The document examines five international case studies to guide Ghana in operationalizing its Environmental Protection Act, 2025. It highlights the risks of transacting carbon before establishing legal frameworks, as seen in Liberia, and the benefits of statutory community benefit-sharing floors, as implemented in Kenya. The analysis contrasts state-centered models in Zambia and Indonesia with Australia's property-law approach, where carbon rights are registrable interests in land. The briefing concludes with seven specific recommendations for Ghana, including the definition of carbon rights as transactable interests and the mandate of community development agreements to ensure free, prior and informed consent.

• Liberia's experience demonstrates the danger of executing carbon deals before establishing a legal framework; a 2023 memorandum of understanding with Blue Carbon LLC for roughly one million hectares was signed without community consent or law, leading to a national backlash and a subsequent moratorium on carbon activities.
• Kenya has implemented a statutory benefit-sharing model through the Climate Change (Amendment) Act, 2023 and 2024 Carbon Markets Regulations, which mandate that land-based projects allocate at least 40 per cent of net earnings to community development via compulsory community development agreements (CDAs).
• Zambia employs a state-centered model where the Forests Act, 2015 vests ownership of all trees and forest produce in the President, meaning communities participate as licensees rather than rights-holders.
• Indonesia has developed extensive carbon infrastructure, including the IDXCarbon exchange and dual registries (SRN PPI and SRUK), but has faced challenges with regulatory churn and complexity, including a wholesale framework reconstruction in 2025 via Presidential Regulation No. 110.
• Australia treats carbon rights as registrable property; state law creates a "carbon sequestration right" that can be severed from land and registered on the title, while the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 defines credits as statutory personal property.
• The briefing recommends that Ghana define forest carbon rights as registrable, transactable interests in the Land Act registration system and establish statutory minimum community benefit shares to avoid the disputes seen in other jurisdictions.

APA

ClientEarth (n.d.). International Comparative Studies How other forest countries regulate carbon rights and markets : lessons for Ghana from Liberia, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Australia. https://www.clientearth.org/media/2bknpz4w/international-comparative-studies-ghana-briefing.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. International Comparative Studies How other forest countries regulate carbon rights and markets : lessons for Ghana from Liberia, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Australia. n.d. https://www.clientearth.org/media/2bknpz4w/international-comparative-studies-ghana-briefing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=International Comparative Studies How other forest countries regulate carbon rights and markets : lessons for Ghana from Liberia, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Australia |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/2bknpz4w/international-comparative-studies-ghana-briefing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearthndinternational, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{International Comparative Studies How other forest countries regulate carbon rights and markets : lessons for Ghana from Liberia, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Australia}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/2bknpz4w/international-comparative-studies-ghana-briefing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }