By Lungelo Ndhlovu | lungelo@gmail.com
Zimbabwe is preparing to launch a fully regulated carbon credit market by 2026, positioning itself as a key player in global climate finance. Government officials say the reform marks a major shift in how the country manages and profits from its natural resources. “This regulation makes it mandatory for all carbon trading players in the country to register with the Zimbabwe Carbon Markets Authority,” said Washington Zhakata, Director of Climate Change Management in the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate.
Carbon credits are certificates created by projects that reduce or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Companies that want to offset their pollution can buy these credits by investing in projects such as tree planting or conservation farming. In theory, the system allows global companies to fund environmental protection in countries like Zimbabwe, while local communities receive income to support green initiatives.
But as Zimbabwe formalizes its multi-billion-dollar carbon industry, dividing revenues between the state and project developers, a key question remains: will the money reach and empower the rural women who are most affected by climate change?
Across southern Zimbabwe, climate change is already reshaping daily life. In dry provinces such as Matabeleland North, repeated droughts and sudden floods have destroyed maize crops and worsened food shortages. Most rural families depend on rainfall to grow food, and with weather patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable, each farming season brings fresh uncertainty.
Women are at the centre of this climate crisis. In many rural communities, they are responsible for collecting water, growing food and caring for their families. When wells dry up or crops fail, it is women who walk longer distances, work longer hours and struggle to keep households fed.
In Hwange West, near the Zambezi River, local leaders believe carbon finance could help turn environmental pressure into economic opportunity.
Member of Parliament Vusumuzi Moyo said revenue from carbon credits could fund solar-powered irrigation systems in communities that sit beside one of Africa’s largest rivers yet they still face chronic water shortages. “Women are already involved in conservation farming and adaptation projects, but they lack capital. If carbon trading brings investment into irrigation, it changes productivity and household incomes.
Such projects could pump water from the Zambezi into community gardens, reducing the long hours women spend fetching water,” Moyo said. On the ground, some women are already adapting. In Hwange, farmers have begun planting rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa), a drought-resistant crop that provides multiple food products.
Maritha Sibanda, a local farmer, said the plant has become a safety net. “Even if other crops fail, we get many products from rosella. We eat the leaves as spinach and dry the red parts for drinks and jams,” she said.
However, significant obstacles threaten to undermine these potential gains. Chief among them is land ownership. In much of rural Zimbabwe, land is governed under customary systems that recognize men as the official heads of households. Because carbon credit payments are legally tied to land use, compensation is typically directed to the recognized landholder, often excluding the women who carry out much of the agricultural and conservation work.
This creates a risk that women who do the farming and tree planting may not receive the income. Without legal safeguards, payments for carbon generated from a woman’s garden could be claimed by a male relative who holds the traditional land title.
Tirivanhu Muhwati, a deputy director in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Water and Climate, acknowledged these concerns. He said the government is working to ensure that community benefits are clearly defined and that gender inclusion is considered in revenue allocation. “Equitable revenue distribution to rural farmers and communities is ensured through the benefit-sharing rules set out in the Carbon Trading (General) Regulations, 2025 (SI 48 of 2025). Farmers receive a portion of the government’s share through support for local community projects. All records related to benefit sharing will be uploaded to the project developer’s account on the Zimbabwe Carbon Registry, where they will be publicly accessible,” Muhwati said.
Meanwhile, some private initiatives that have since registered with the Zimbabwe Carbon Markets Authority and are attempting to address risk and inclusion.
My Trees Trust, a local reforestation project, is one example. The project has planted more than 10 million indigenous trees across the country. According to Rory Pilossof, the general manager, the project shields participating households from financial risk.
“If drought or fire damages the trees, the participating households are not held financially liable. We take on that risk,” he said. This model is particularly significant for women, who often lack savings to recover from crop losses or failed projects.
