Washington, DC, 19 September 2025 — Forest Trends’ Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative, in collaboration with Greendata and with support from the Walmart Foundation, has launched Understanding Climate Finance, a new series of educational brochures designed to make complex climate finance concepts clear and accessible.
The series offers straightforward explanations of the key mechanisms shaping global efforts to protect forests and address climate change. Each brochure breaks down a different topic in plain language, highlights opportunities and challenges for Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and Local Communities (LCs) and provides real-world examples to illustrate how these mechanisms work in practice.
Topics covered in the series include:
- Carbon and Climate Change
- Carbon Projects and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)
- Jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+)
- LEAF Coalition and ART TREES Standard
- Project Nesting
- Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)
- Benefit Sharing
“Our goal with this series is to empower IPs & LCs with the knowledge they need to engage meaningfully in climate finance,” said Beto Borges, Forest Trends’ Director of the Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative. “By translating technical mechanisms into practical and approachable information, we hope to open the door for more inclusive participation in climate solutions.”
The full brochure series is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
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Forest Trends is a civil society organization that works to conserve forests and natural ecosystems by promoting nature-based solutions, sustainable economies, and climate justice. Through its Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative (CTGI), Forest Trends has worked for over two decades in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to strengthen territorial governance, cultural preservation, and equitable access to climate finance. CTGI has a strong presence across Latin America and extensive experience in pioneering projects that intersect conservation, forest-based economies, and community leadership.
Greendata – Center for Socioeconomic and Environmental Management and Innovation is a Brazilian organization that develops solutions to promote the value of territories, knowledge systems, and sustainable practices of traditional communities. With a focus on social technologies and participatory methodologies, it designs development strategies that are locally grounded, strengthening biodiversity-based value chains, territorial management, and environmental justice. As a key implementing partner for Forest Trends projects in Brazil, Greendata supports initiatives that promote autonomy, well-being, and community resilience in the face of climate and socio-environmental challenges.
Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. By focusing where the business has unique strengths, Walmart.org works to tackle key social and environmental issues and collaborate with others to spark long-lasting systemic change.