Introducing the Forest Impact Accelerator’s New Partner Cohort

The Forest Impact Accelerator empowers national conservation organisations and local communities to bridge the gap between conservation and capital, enabling the protection, conservation, and restoration of forests, supporting local communities and delivering measurable climate and biodiversity outcomes. 

The Accelerator is timely in light of the world’s urgent need to meet its climate and biodiversity goals. Forest ecosystems play a central role in both agendas: they act as major carbon sinks, biodiversity habitats, and regulators of freshwater and climate systems.

The upcoming COP30 in Brazil is placing forests, oceans and biodiversity at the core of its action agenda. The Brazilian Presidency has emphasised the need to move from commitments to implementation – accelerating financial flows, innovation and inclusive governance for nature‑based solutions. In this context, the Accelerator contributes directly to turning high‑level pledges into local action, illustrating how investment in forest‑based enterprises can support the delivery of the Paris Agreement and the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework. By catalysing sustainable business models around forests, the Accelerator helps de‑risk investment, scale-up finance and deliver real‑world impact at the frontline of climate and biodiversity efforts.  

Each of the chosen Partner initiatives exemplifies how local leadership, innovation and sustainable finance can unlock transformative outcomes to protect forests, restore ecosystems and improve livelihoods. As the Accelerator continues to grow, we aim to support more Partners transitioning from grant‑dependency into sustainable enterprises, connecting local innovation to global investment.  

Read further to meet our incoming 2025 cohort and the exciting plans they have in place to scale investment in their landscapes! 

Header Image: San Rafael–Tekoha Guasu National Park, Guyra Paraguay © Cindy Galeano.

Meet the 2025 Partner Cohort

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. 

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. 

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. 

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  

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. 

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.  

The Forest Impact Accelerator has run for five successful years with generous support from the Hempel Foundation, Waterloo Foundation and the King Charles III Charitable Fund, as well as £6 million of additional funding sourced in collaboration with our Partners. Overall, it is benefitting 38,000 local people, has improved protection for 400 threatened species, and has impacted over 1 million hectares. This year, we were awarded an important Darwin Initiative Extra grant through the UK government’s Biodiversity Challenge Awards, a programme that supports global biodiversity conservation, reduces poverty, and addresses climate change. The £4,978,335 award will expand and scale these achievements to secure 1 million hectares of Key Biodiversity Areas while generating economic benefits for 200,000 local people.