BirdLife’s  Forest Impact Accelerator tackles one of conservation’s biggest challenges: how to break free from unsustainable funding and tap into the huge scale of the private sector.

Forests are disappearing. As are the species that thrive under their canopies and the services they provide to communities worldwide. Whether it’s due to agricultural expansion, resource exploitation or weak governance, ultimately, deforestation is a symptom of a global system that does not value forests in their natural state.

We are unique in our focus on the most important tropical forest landscapes, highly customized technical support for national organizations, and non-repayable, small-scale seed funding for early stage SFIs.  We’re building a pipeline of high impact mechanisms that can capitalize on global commitments and investments in forests.  

The Accelerator has the potential to incubate 50 SFIs over the next 10 years. It will generate forest-protective, market-based revenues and economic incentives that benefit rural communities and nature over 40 priority landscapes worldwide. These innovative solutions will act as models to be adapted and replicated across BirdLife’s 123 national Partner’s landscapes, and in the emerging conservation finance sector around the world.  

Asociación Armonía

Asociación Armonía seeks to secure long-term financing for the conservation and restoration of the southern slope of Tunari National Park – home to Bolivia’s last extensive native Kewiña forests and essential water sources for 1.2 million people.  The initiative will establish a mixed Trust Fund, projected to mobilise £3 million annually for forest restoration, wildfire prevention, and sustainable livelihoods with Quechua communities.

NatureLife Cambodia 

NatureLife Cambodia aims to strengthen and expand the Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary (LWS) REDD+ Project, integrating sustainable agriculture, carbon finance, and biodiversity conservation. Building on the success of the IBIS Rice program, which rewards farmers for forest protection, the project will scale-up a sustainable cashew initiative. This will diversify community incomes and reduce dependence on forest exploitation across the 356,000-hectare protected area so rural livelihoods and forest protection reinforce one another across Cambodia’s Eastern Plains.

Burung Indonesia 

Burung Indonesia aims to prepare the Popayato Paguat Landscape – a 354,000-hectare mosaic of forests, farms, and villages – for participation in emerging carbon markets. By strengthening local institutions, promoting sustainable agroforestry (especially cocoa-based systems), and aligning conservation and economic goals, this initiative will lay the groundwork for long-term financing that supports forest protection, climate mitigation, and community resilience in northern Sulawesi.

Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN)  

Bird Conservation Nepal aims to conserve the biodiverse Mai Valley Forest Landscape, home to over 375 bird species – including the Globally Threatened Grey-crowned Prinia and Wood Snipe. The project will link biodiversity conservation with sustainable non-timber forest product (NTFP) enterprises. The approach promotes equitable participation of women and marginalised groups, builds sustainable local income streams, and establishes a replicable model to finance conservation outside Nepal’s protected area system.  

ProNatura Sur

ProNatura Sur’s initiative seeks to build a Regional Community Forestry Model that integrates economic profitability, social inclusion and long-term forest conservation across the Northern Mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. The project strengthens community forestry enterprises through improved forest governance, citizen science-based monitoring, and technical upgrades to sawmill operations. A new 950-hectare Protected Natural Area (PNA) has been declared under state jurisdiction, coupled with a payment for environmental services (PES) scheme to finance its management and incentivise conservation. 

Nature Rwanda

Nature Rwanda’s initiative aims to restore and protect Busaga Forest, a newly recognised Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) and Rwanda’s only known breeding site of the Critically Endangered Hooded Vulture. The project links forest conservation with community livelihoods through nature-positive financing and sustainable enterprises. The initiative’s long-term model will empower women and youth through financial inclusion, promote ecotourism and environmental education. 

Guyra Paraguay

Guyra Paraguay’s initiative focuses on conserving and restoring the San Rafael–Tekoha Guasu National Park, one of the country’s last large tracts of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest. It is Paraguay’s first Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), hosting 456 bird species and the Mbya Guaraní Indigenous communities. A blended finance model integrating incentivised biodiversity-friendly enterprises, carbon credits, and Indigenous-led governance will drive landscape-scale restoration, legal land security, and long-term conservation finance in the Atlantic Forest. 

Nature Kenya

Nature Kenya’s initiative focuses on building a community-led, financially self-sustaining model for forest restoration and conservation across the Mount Kenya Forest Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project links forest stewardship directly with economic incentives by scaling agroforestry and NTFP enterprises – including coffee, macadamia, avocado, and honey. The initiative aims to increase forest cover, enhance biodiversity, improve water security, reduce illegal logging, and provide long-term livelihood opportunities, whilst supporting Kenya’s national 15 billion Tree Campaign target of 30% tree cover by 2032.

 Haribon Foundation

Haribon Foundation’s “CommuniTrees” initiative seeks to conserve the Mount Irid–Angilo–Binuang Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) in the Philippines. It’s a critical watershed and one of the last forest strongholds near Metro Manila, home to the Dumagat-Remontado Indigenous Peoples and the Critically Endangered Philippine Eagle. The project will link community-based forest governance with biodiversity-friendly enterprises and carbon market mechanisms such as REDD+ and afforestation/reforestation (ARR) to build a model that can be replicated across the Sierra Madre landscape.

Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF)

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation aims to design a sustainable finance model to protect and restore the Omo Forest Reserve – home to Endangered species, such as Grey Parrot, and vital to the Ogun River Basin. By the end of the initiative, NCF expects to scale forest-friendly enterprises to generate long-term funding for forest management and rural livelihoods, reduce deforestation, and enhance ecosystem resilience in southwest Nigeria.

Aves Argentinas, Argentina 

Having successfully developed their Cultivo Amigo de los Aves’(CAA) certification seal for sustainable yerba mate production through previous support of the Accelerator. Aves Argentinas are now exploring a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanism which can be pair with the CAA seal to promote and incentivise more yerba mate farmers in the Atlantic Forest to become certified and grow their yerba mate to grown according to strict conservation standards

Asociación Calidris, Colombia 

Calidris are scoping a forest carbon project in the Paraguas-Munique corridor – an area with very high levels of deforestation. The project will develop a conservation fund, aimed at enhancing agroecological farming within local communities while strengthening local markets and supply chains, providing alternative livelihoods to extractive activities which degrade forests.  

BirdWatch Zambia

BirdWatch Zambia are carrying out a scoping exercise to evaluate the viability of a sustainable finance project across two distinct Important Bird Areas (IBAs) – Machile and Simungoma. The initial focus will be forest carbon or NTFPs.

SAVE Brasil (Brazil)

Based in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, SAVE Brasil’s FIA-supported project was centred around exploring best practice agroforestry demonstrative units to understand the best potential for sustainability and increased productivity for scale up across communities. The project also explored financial inclusion for farmers through establishing credit lines to support sustainable agricultural practices, and understanding investor needs to bring in additional finance into the landscape.  

VietNature (Vietnam) 

The FIA has supported VietNature with developing such a business model for transforming short rotation acacia to timber production with native hardwood species. The model is designed to prolong the rotation of plantation and increase the proportion of native hardwood species to produce higher value, sustainable and certified timber.  

Asity (Madagascar) 

Through attendance at workshops and training events, the FIA has supported Asity Madagascar to explore different options for sustainable finance, including ecotourism in Tsitongambarika.  

BirdLife Sao Tome e Principe (Sao Tome e Principe) 

The FIA has supported BirdLife Sao Tome e Principe to exploit a niche but profitable opportunity in developing butterfly farms. The butterfly business model works with a network of ‘hunter groups’, communities that are paid to capture butterflies from the rainforest, and three butterfly farms that breed the endemic and internationally sought-after butterflies. These farms export chrysalides to butterfly farms and zoos in Europe where they are displayed for educational and recreational purposes. The business model will also work with women associations to create local handicraft products with the butterflies, which can be sold on local tourism markets. Meanwhile, a proportion of farmed butterflies will be released into the wild, ensuring sustainability. 

Forest Landscapes are Shaped by Decisions

As you can see in this video, every decision you make can shape tropical forest landscapes. We believe that well-managed landscapes can meet the needs of the present without compromising the future. We need forest-positive incentives, innovation in conservation and investment, so that both people and forests can thrive. 

The BirdLife Forest Impact Accelerator is investing in bold, sustainable solutions for tropical forest landscapes around the world.

What’s your next decision?

If you would like to learn more about the Accelerator, please contact Christina Van Winkle at [email protected].