Two projects, one goal: Helping countries unlock finance to protect their forests
Winrock International and partners are supporting governments across countries in Africa, Asia and South America to strengthen forest protection — and unlock access to finance to do so. A pair of visits to Brazil and Mexico by Ecosystem Services Associate Director Pedro Piffer demonstrate how Winrock helps jurisdictions prepare, coordinate and move forward with high-integrity, large-scale forest conservation programs. Pedro provided some quick takeaways from the recent work, and how helping jurisdictions move from readiness to implementation turns commitments into results.
Brazil: Strengthening readiness for forest-based finance
Through the Lowering Emissions and Accelerating Finance Technical Assistance program, Winrock is working with partners and Brazilian states to build the technical and institutional foundations needed to access forest-based finance. Funded by the United Kingdom Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, LEAF-TA provides targeted support to help governments improve how they measure and monitor forest emissions, strengthen environmental and social safeguards, and prepare for required, independent assessment processes.
During recent engagements in Brasília, Pará and Mato Grosso, we worked alongside Climate Law & Policy, state governments and other key partners including The Nature Conservancy, the United Nations Development Programme and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute. The objective is to help those jurisdictions align with other international technical assistance efforts supporting Amazonian states, and to prepare for upcoming audits and assessments. Our work also supported the development and advancement of workplans and technical readiness, including emissions accounting and land-based data systems.
“The big goal is ensuring that Brazilian jurisdictions are well-prepared, coordinated and positioned to participate in high-integrity carbon markets and other finance mechanisms tied to forest conservation. Governments are ready to act on forest protection. Our role is to help connect that ambition to the systems, partnerships and financing needed to make it real.” — Pedro Piffer, associate director, Ecosystem Services
Mexico: Launching a new partnership to scale jurisdictional REDD+
In Mexico, Winrock is helping launch the Jurisdictional REDD+ Technical Assistance Partnership, a collaboration designed to scale up large-scale forest conservation programs. JTAP is a partnership between Winrock, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Climate Law & Policy. (REDD+ is short for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation; the “+” refers to additional activities like forest conservation, sustainable management and improving forest health and carbon storage. JREDD+ programming refers to government-led efforts to reduce deforestation and protect forests across an entire jurisdiction, such as a country or state, while unlocking finance tied to those results.)
Supported by funding from the Climate and Land Use Alliance and the Forests, People, Climate initiative, JTAP provides governments with targeted technical support to strengthen the design and implementation of JREDD+ programs, improve coordination across state and national institutions, and position jurisdictions to access climate finance for protecting forests.
Our meetings with the Jalisco State Secretariat of Environment and Territorial Development and the National Forestry Commission focused on defining priority areas for support, aligning workplans across partners and government agencies, and ensuring efforts build on existing national and state frameworks. The discussions marked the start of JTAP’s operational phase and laid out the groundwork for sustained, coordinated support to the state.
Bridging the gap
While distinct, the LEAF-TA and JTAP initiatives share a common goal: helping governments protect forests at scale while accessing new sources of finance.
Across both efforts, Winrock’s Ecosystem Services team brings deep technical expertise in emissions measurement and verification, along with experience supporting governments through complex readiness and assessment processes. The aim is to build strong partnerships that align funders, organizations, and public institutions.
“What we’re seeing on the ground is strong commitment from governments to protect forests, but they need the right technical support and coordination to turn that into real climate finance. These partnerships are helping bridge that gap, so countries can move forward with credible, large-scale solutions that benefit both the environment and local communities.” — Pedro Piffer
Winrock’s JREDD+ work advances Winrock’s strategic priorities by scaling solutions that deliver measurable emissions reductions and drive investments. It also strengthens the institutions and systems that enable long-term impact, connecting science, policy, and finance to unlock new opportunities for countries, jurisdictions and communities.
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