Zambia's Eastern Province Jurisdictional Sustainable Landscape Programme (ISFL Results-Based Payments)

In June 2024, Zambia became the second country (after Ethiopia) to sign an Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the World Bank's Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL), through its Eastern Province Jurisdictional Sustainable Landscape Programme (EP-JSLP), which formally launched in September 2024 under the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment.

The agreement unlocks up to US$30 million in results-based payments for an estimated 3 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions reduced across Eastern Province between 2024 and 2029, rewarding communities — including the Zingalume and Kapatamoyo chiefdoms — for forest conservation, climate-smart agriculture, fuel-efficient cookstoves and sustainable charcoal production.

Early, pre-payment results reported by the World Bank include sustainable management extended to more than 72,000 hectares of forest and yield increases of over 32% for selected crops among participating farmers using climate-smart methods, alongside new rural jobs linked to sustainable charcoal and forestry value chains.

Caveat: as of the programme's most recent public reporting, no carbon-credit payment had yet been disbursed — the first emission-reductions monitoring report was still being finalised, with third-party verification expected around December 2025 — so the $30 million is a payment ceiling contingent on verified results rather than money already paid out.

Read the full analysis: https://www.biocarbonfund-isfl.org/programs/zambia-integrated-forest-landscape-program-zifl-p