The aim of the pilot project 'Miombo community land use and carbon management' (financed by the EC) is to develop forestry and land use practices that promote sustainable rural livelihoods in participation with rural communities in a way that raises living standards and to asses the potential of these activities to generate verifiable carbon emission reductions.

The project works with communities and small-scale farmers in the Gorongosa National Park buffer zone, the initial target group was the N'hambita community and the project aims to extend the activities to other communities in the area.

The project has three main components: the promotion of sustainable land use in N'hambita (forest management, agroforestry and non-timber forest products), research into the regional potential for carbon offsets generated through these activities and capacity building of regional organisations. The study aimed at providing evidence that the project is implementing in full its proposal and to provide the EC Delegation with a technical and analytical assessment of project progress to guide operational decision-makintg.