Together with partners around the world, Forest Trends pioneers innovative finance for conservation, promoting healthy forests, sustainable agriculture, clean water, robust climate action, biodiverse landscapes, and strong communities.
Our programs and initiatives publish timely research, bring together diverse actors, and apply these approaches to make a difference on the ground, often blazing trails for bold and far-reaching policies in the process.
Flagship Work
News From Ecosystem Marketplace
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New Global Study Maps Policy for Nature Credit Markets, Revealing Diverse Approaches Across Six Continents
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CommentaryFrom Crisis to Compromise: What Article 6.4’s Permanence Standard Means for Carbon Markets
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How Complementary Forest Finance Mechanisms Can Promote Tropical Forest Protection
Forest Trends protects critical ecosystems through creative environmental finance, markets, supply chains, and other incentive mechanisms. We build diverse coalitions with governments, local and indigenous communities, and business to ensure that all stakeholders are engaged and benefit from conservation.
𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿![]()
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Data can be a tool for justice. In Liberia, that truth is unmistakable.![]()
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Environmental activist Silas Siakor first exposed how revenues from illegal logging were fueling Liberia’s civil war—work that helped trigger UN sanctions and major reforms. Today, his partnership with Forest Trends continues that legacy.![]()
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Together, we have:![]()
① Documented more than $20 million owed to local communities in unpaid land rental fees![]()
② Supported reforms that strengthen transparency and accountability![]()
③ Helped move the Government of Liberia toward fair compensation and responsible governance![]()
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As Silas says, “The evidence is there. It is indisputable.” When information is placed in the hands of local communities, power shifts. Read the full story: www.forest-trends.org/publications/forest-trends-impact-report-2025/#silas
Join Kerstin Canby, Senior Director of our Forest Policy, Trade, & Finance Initiative, on February 10, 2026 from 14:15–15:15 CET for an exclusive OECD Forum side session exploring how data, technology, and intelligence can transform due diligence into real impact. ![]()
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🎤 Side session: “Supply Chain Intelligence: Driving Transparency and Due Diligence in Fashion” at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector![]()
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📍 Live on Livestorm![]()
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Supply Chain Intelligence helps brands make sense of complex supply chain data by structuring, analyzing, and translating it into usable insights for due diligence.![]()
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This high-level session brings together the wider fashion ecosystem, offering a unique opportunity to discuss due diligence through different and complementary perspectives.![]()
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What you will learn:![]()
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✔️ Turning fragmented data into actionable supply chain insights powered by technology![]()
✔️ Strengthening environmental & social risk assessment![]()
✔️ Preparing for emerging regulations, including the Deforestation-Free Regulation![]()
✔️ Converting intelligence into measurable impact![]()
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Kerstin will be joined on the panel by Laure Betsch, Co-Founder of Fairly Made®, and Rachel Molina, Head of Sustainability at Another Tomorrow. ![]()
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If you’re a brand, retailer, or sustainability leader navigating compliance, traceability, and impact at scale, this session is for you.![]()
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Register now at: eu1.hubs.ly/H0qGgkS0![]()
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#garment #footwear #duediligence #responsible #supplychains #bizhumanrights
Our recent report, Doubling Down on Nature, discovered that nearly half of the total investment volume in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for water in 2023 was delivered through public incentives for landholders ($23.4B), which pay farmers, forest managers, and other landholders to improve land management practices for water benefits. These initiatives are typically large, publicly-funded programs operating at national or supranational (in the case of the EU) scales. ![]()
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Their impact is significant. In 2023, the average landholder incentive program invested $1.1B. Many of these initiatives have been running since the 1990s or early 200s, proving them to be reliable long-term funding sources for NbS at scale. ![]()
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As shown in the figure below, public incentives for landholders have been an influential driver of NbS for water security since the beginning of the decade. Although their growth has been slower compared to other mechanisms, they continue to be a stable force. While landholder incentive programs led investment volumes in 2013, by 2021 all other mechanisms combined surpassed them in total volume driven in part by growth in large investments by governments in nature as infrastructure in countries like the United States, the Netherlands, and Peru. ![]()
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See our full analysis at www.forest-trends.org/publications/doubling-down-on-nature/
As we look back on 2025, we invite you to enjoy a few image highlights from the year. Thank you for being part of the journey—see you in 2026.
Welcome back to Meet the FT team! This month, meet Aubrey Peterson, Senior Communications Manager at Forest Trends. ![]()
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Aubrey has over ten years of communications experience in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. From her time as a Fulbright Scholar in Vietnam to her grant management work at an international development firm, she values connecting stakeholders with the proper tools to effectively share their work. At Forest Trends, she develops strategic communications plans, oversees engaging content creation, and elevates our team’s findings across diverse media platforms. In her spare time, Aubrey enjoys hiking, cooking, and improv comedy. She holds an MA in International Affairs from American University and a double BA in Communications and History from Wake Forest University.![]()
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Fun fact about Aubrey: She once officiated her best friend’s wedding on Mount Kilimanjaro, just two days before successfully summiting!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our annual holiday party last week! This is always a special time of year, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to connect with so many of you in person. ![]()
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While 2025 has brought challenges for many of us, we’ve also found unwavering strength, support, and resilience in our community—and we end the year feeling more connected and inspired than ever.![]()
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Please enjoy a few photos from our holiday celebration in DC, and from all of us at Forest Trends, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a peaceful, successful 2026! To stay connected, we invite you to sign up for our newsletter at www.forest-trends.org/sign-up/.
Nested projects integrate local forest conservation initiatives into larger jurisdictional REDD+ programs, such as those at national, state or provincial level. This alignment ensures that local efforts contribute to regional or national emission reduction targets, while helping to prevent issues such as double counting, emissions leakage, and misalignment with public policies.![]()
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The success of project nesting relies on participatory governance, adequate resources, and adaptation to local contexts, as well as the integration of traditional and scientific knowledge. International cooperation and the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs & LCs) are essential, along with strengthening governance, ensuring effective community participation, guaranteeing transparency in benefit-sharing, and aligning with public policies.![]()
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Forest Trends’ newly published brochure series, Understanding Climate Finance, was created to empower IPs & LCs with the knowledge they need to engage effectively in climate finance. In its fifth installment, we explain what REDD+ project nesting is, how it works in practice, its core principles, mechanisms, and challenges, and how this approach can help integrate local forest conservation initiatives with jurisdictional programs.![]()
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Explore the series here: www.forest-trends.org/publications/understanding-climate-finance/
Finding highlight ⓸ from our State of Climate and Conservation Finance for Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities Report: ![]()
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🟫 STRUCTURAL BARRIERS UNDERMINE ACCESS ![]()
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Reform is urgently needed to address the lack of funding reaching Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs & LCs)—especially since these groups often face systemic discrimination, legal insecurity, bureaucratic grant processes, language and cultural barriers, and limited infrastructure. Asymmetries in power, resources, and information further constrain IPs’ and LCs’ ability to negotiate or implement projects independently.![]()
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Without meaningful reforms to increase direct funding, enforce rights, and enable self-determined climate action, both market and non-market approaches risk failing both people and the planet.![]()
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A new, equity-centered climate finance system must prioritize local control and Indigenous leadership, explicitly require revenue streams for people on the ground, and be grounded in transparency and accountability to effectively address the intertwined climate and biodiversity crises.![]()
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👉 Dive deeper into our analysis: www.forest-trends.org/publications/state-of-climate-and-conservation-finance-for-indigenous-peopl...
𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲—𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽![]()
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In our 2025 Impact Report, we explore how lessons from the past are shaping solutions for today’s wildfire crisis.![]()
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Wildfires are now the leading driver of forest loss worldwide. The answer lies not only in suppression, but in learning from Indigenous and local fire stewardship practices that keep landscapes healthier and communities safer.![]()
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Forest Trends is collaborating with the USDA Forest Service and local partners to shift the conversation—building public support for proactive forest management rooted in shared values. Read the full story: www.forest-trends.org/publications/forest-trends-impact-report-2025/#smokey
As illicit acts, illegal deforestation and related crimes in forest areas are difficult to monitor and great efforts are taken to conceal them. While it’s challenging to obtain a complete picture, Forest Trends estimates that nearly three-quarters (69%) of tropical forest loss driven by commercial agriculture was illegal, carried out in violation of national laws and regulations. This poses challenges for the private sector and other actors who want to assess the risk of illegal logging or illegal deforestation entering timber and forest risk agricultural commodity supply chains, and government agencies enforcing the growing number of national regulations designed to exclude illegal deforestation imports.![]()
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Forest Trends created the Illegal Deforestation and Associated Trade (IDAT) Risk website to aid Industry, governments, and other stakeholders who are looking for tools to better assess the risk that products linked to illegal deforestation enter global trade flows.![]()
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The website currently features an interactive map, our Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (ILAT) risk data tool, 23 timber legality dashboards, 6 forest-risk commodity dashboards and additional methodology notes and key resources. ![]()
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Explore here: www.forest-trends.org/idat/
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Biodiversity
Nov 19, 2025
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