New $50 Million Bond to Support Indigenous-Led Amazon Forest Conservation
In a major step toward aligning climate finance with Indigenous-led conservation, a new $50 million outcome bond has been launched to support forest protection efforts in the Amazon, led by Everland in partnership with BNP Paribas.
A new $50 million outcome bond partnership has been launched to finance large-scale, Indigenous and traditional community-led forest conservation projects in the Amazon. Spearheaded by Everland and in partnership with BNP Paribas, the bond aims to fund “$50 million in direct project financing to launch the first 20 Indigenous-led REDD+ forest conservation projects in the Amazon”.
The initiative will focus on protecting ecosystems within the Jaguar Corridor, a 6 million km2 range of interconnected landscapes that are vital to the long-term survival of jaguar and other important flora and fauna. Indigenous communities have been acting as guardians and calling this area their ancestral lands for centuries and therefore the idea is to utilise their responsible stewardship and local knowledge, in order to effectively protect this critical region of biodiversity.
It is estimated that between one-fifth and one-third of the world’s remaining intact forest landscapes are on Indigenous land, with at least 36% of the global Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) lying within Indigenous Peoples and local community lands. These communities are therefore fundamental in halting and reversing global biodiversity loss by 2030, as well as other biodiversity and climate goals.
In practice, the partnership works through working with local communities to prevent deforestation and subsequently generating high-integrity carbon credits. Everland will oversee this process end-to-end, with the final sale of these credits projected to generate over $1 billion within the first decade. Everland’s responsibilities will include “identifying and vetting projects, conducting on-the-ground due diligence, and overseeing the development process to ensure projects meet the requirements for the project finance milestone payments”.
The projects will be certified under the Equitable Earth Standard and therefore must meet high-integrity and community development criteria, in order to ensure that the indigenous and traditional communities receive a fair share of benefits. These benefits will be shared through revenue-sharing agreements, with the hope that sustainable development for the local communities is the fundamental foundation and theme to the project as a whole.
BNP Paribas will structure the financing mechanism and has cited the initiative’s focus on biodiversity and community impact as key to its support. The outcome-based model means funding is linked to measurable conservation results.
Chief Uraan Anderson Suruí, Traditional Leader of the Paiter Suruí People, said:
“For generations, our communities have protected the forests because we understand that our survival — and the survival of all life — depends on them. Yet too often, decisions about climate finance have been made without us, and resources have failed to reach the ground where they are needed most. With the Equitable Earth Standard and this new initiative led by Everland and BNP Paribas, a door is opening — creating a direct path for Indigenous and traditional peoples to access the financing we need to protect our territories, strengthen our cultures, and secure our future. This is not just an investment in carbon credits; it is an investment in our way of life, in the forests that sustain humanity, and in building a more just and sustainable world for all.”
Constance Chalchat, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking said:
“Conservation is about safeguarding the natural resources that underpin countries’ long-term prosperity. From forests and water systems to working lands, we help finance efforts to responsibly manage and restore nature so that ecosystems continue delivering services to communities and economies. Indigenous Peoples have safeguarded these vital ecosystems for generations, and Indigenous knowledge, combined with sustainable financial mechanisms, is essential to driving long-term investments that deliver measurable and lasting climate, biodiversity and community outcomes. This initiative exemplifies how aligning private sector investment with Indigenous expertise can secure the long-term value of forests for people, economies, and our planet.”
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