Tropical Forest Forever Facility

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Tropical and sub-tropical moist broadleaf forests, the biome to be conserved through the TFFF Biome map 01.svg
Tropical and sub-tropical moist broadleaf forests, the biome to be conserved through the TFFF

The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) is a proposed blended-finance mechanism to incentivise countries to prevent the deforestation and degradation of moist broadleaf forests.

Contents

The fund would use profits from capital market investments to provide results-based payments to rainforest countries. [1] The mechanism was proposed by the Brazilian government [2] with the aim of launching the facility at COP30 in Belem, Brazil in November 2025. [3]

History

A version of this fund concept was originally proposed by World Bank treasurer Kenneth Lay in the 2000s. [1] The mechanism, then called the Tropical Forest Finance Facility received broader attention through an article Lay co-wrote for The Center for Global Development. [4] The current iteration was announced at COP28 in Dubai, UAE in 2023 by Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad. [5]

Government endorsements

The governments of France, [6] Germany, [7] Colombia, [7] the UAE, [7] Malaysia, [7] Singapore [8] and Norway [7] have endorsed the facility or expressed interest in investing. Germany and Norway, are amongst the largest donors for tropical forest conservation, along with the UK. [9] [10]

During a visit to Brazil in December 2024, then U.S. President Biden endorsed the TFFF. [11]

Technical advisors

The World Bank, the U.N. Development Programme, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and Campaign for Nature are technical advisers to the TFFF. [3]

Proposed structure

The program would consist of two primary institutions, the TFFF and the Tropical Forest Investment Facility (TFIF). [3]

The TFIF is to be a $125 billion fund, [8] constituted through a mix of public and private investments hosted at a Multilateral Development Bank, [12] possibly the World Bank. [8] These funds are to be invested in predominantly global south sovereign bonds. [13] The profits from the fund, after interest payments to the investors, would be dispersed to the TFFF.

The TFFF uses the funds to reward countries for protecting those forests.

To be eligible to receive funds, a country must:

Proposed disbursements

Rainforest countries would receive US$4 for every hectare of intact forest as budget contributions. [14] For each hectare deforested that year, a deduction of US$400 is made from that sum. [13] For each hectare degraded, US$100 are deducted. [13] If deductions exceed the payout, countries are not required to pay a penalty. Previously deforested or degraded ecosystems that are fully restored become eligible for payouts again.

20% of total disbursements are to be passed along by the receiving countries to their "indigenous peoples and local communities". [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Andreoni, Manuela (2024-10-03). "An 'Elegant' Idea Could Pay Billions to Protect Trees". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  2. ↑ Chase-Lubitz, Jesse (2024-12-19). "How did Brazil slash deforestation — and can others recreate the win?". Devex. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  3. 1 2 3 4 March 2025, Jesse Chase-Lubitz // 10 (2025-03-10). "Scoop: Brazil hammers out details of forest fund ahead of COP30". Devex. Retrieved 2025-04-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ de Nevers, Michele; Lay, Kenneth; Wolosin, Michael; Bliss-Guest, Patricia (14 June 2018). "The Tropical Forest Finance Facility". Center for Global Development. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "Brazil proposes global forest conservation fund at COP28". Reuters News. 1 Dec 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  6. ↑ "Visita ao Brasil do Presidente da França – Declarações na área ambiental". Ministério das Relações Exteriores (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2025-01-06. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "At COP16, five countries commit to Tropical Forest Finance Facility". Secretaria de Comunicação Social. Archived from the original on 2025-03-02. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  8. 1 2 3 Beck, Martha Viotti; Iglesias, Somone (14 March 2025). "Brazil Has a $125 Billion Plan to Make COP30 a Rare Climate Success". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "Fundo Amazônia: Entenda o que é e de onde vem a verba utilizada". Migalhas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  10. ↑ Fuoco, Tais (2 Dec 2023). "UK Commits Additional €35 Million to Brazil's Amazon Fund". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  11. ↑ House, The White (2024-11-17). "FACT SHEET: President Biden Marks Historic Climate Legacy with Trip to Brazil's Amazon Rainforest". The White House. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  12. ↑ DiGirolamo, Mike (2024-12-16). "What's the TFFF? A forest finance tool 'like no other' shows potential". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "2025 02 24 TFFF Full Concept Note 2.0 - Public (1) (1).pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  14. ↑ Catanoso, Justin (2024-10-30). "COP16: 'A fund unlike any other' will pay tropical nations to save forests". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
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