Black Crystal was appointed as Technical Advisors to work on a certifiable carbon reduction project in Zimbabwe in 2010. The goal of the project is the conservation of forested areas and associated wildlife habitats in four Communal Lands in northern Zimbabwe. Carbon Green Africa is supporting a series of projects that will uplift the livelihoods and support the self-empowerment of local communities. An important source of revenue for the communities will be from the carbon credits generated through the REDD+ project. This will provide an opportunity for sustainable development at the same time as contributing to the conservation of the environment and general biodiversity of the area. Black Crystal was largely responsible for the vegetation biomass and soil carbon field work; development of field protocols for data collection; checking, computerisation and preliminary analysis of vegetation and soil data. In September 2012 the project, which is only the second one in Africa and one of the largest in the world, received its Voluntary Carbon Standard validation. The project had already received the Climate Community Biodiversity Standard validation in February 2012.