Tropical Forest Forever Facility and Investment Fund: How is it meant to work and what are the concerns?

This briefing note explains the way the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) and Investment Fund (TFIF) are meant to function while highlighting key concerns that must be addressed if it is to achieve its goals.  

Effective and equitable financing is urgently needed to close the gap in funding for the sustainable protection of tropical forests and to secure the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs & LCs). While the TFFF gets some of the incentives right, its design raises serious concerns regarding governance, transparency, scientific credibility, and fairness.  

To ensure that the TFFF and TFIF deliver positive environmental and social impacts, important improvements are still needed: 

• Expand the investment exclusion list to prevent investments in sectors and companies that contribute to deforestation, environmental harm and human rights abuses
• Enhance transparency and accountability by making all financial data, governance procedures and monitoring methodologies public to allow for independent review 
• Ensure meaningful participation and inclusion of IPs, LCs and civil society organisations both in TFFF governance structures, and the programme design and fund allocation at the national level 
• Create effective public grievance mechanisms that are transparent, accessible and responsive 
• Strengthen the scientific methodology to address concerns around the low canopy cover and unreliable data used to monitor forest degradation

If done correctly, the TFFF could be an important contribution to global efforts to protect forests and safeguard the rights of forest communities, but it cannot be the sole solution. Its impact will be undermined if governments continue to allow trillions from banks and investors to flow into activities that drive deforestation. Stronger policies are required across the board to close loopholes that allow the financing of deforestation. 

Categories: Briefing Notes, Reports, Finance for forests and peoples