This e-learning course introduces the methodology for analysing public expenditure on forests to enhance policy coherence and foster synergies between agriculture and forestry. Learners will explore public expenditure classification systems – such as the function-based classification and the forest pathway, outcome-based classification – which facilitate policy linkages and support alignment with strategic objectives across both sectors.

This report examines five case studies of innovative mechanisms designed to mobilize private capital into adaptive Nature-based solutions (NbS) across the world through desk research and close interviews with the managers or investment directors of the funds. The cases, which include Forest Carbon, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, Landbanking Group, Impact Earth, and Wildfire Resilience Insurance, provide insights into how NbS projects and investments are increasingly recognized as adaptation investments as these two spaces converge.

This series of case studies illustrates past or ongoing projects that have used a variety of mechanisms to finance a nature-based solution in the United States. Each case study describes the context, the nature-based solution applied, the financial mechanism used, and ideas for how private capital and/or a green bank or community lender could support similar projects. 

The following case studies relate to the financing of forest-based solutions:

In response to calls from businesses for greater clarity from governments on the use of carbon credits as part of corporate decarbonisation plans, the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets has issued a clear set of Shared Principles on the voluntary use of high-integrity carbon credits to provide consistency in approach across jurisdictions. The Shared Principles establish six pillars for corporate carbon credit use, including credits derived from forest-related carbon reductions and removals.

This report, titled, “Financing for Forests: from commitment to action. Policymaking to accelerate forest finance in emerging markets & developing economies”, examines the role of government policy in expanding private finance for forest conservation, restoration, and sustainable management.

The first "State of Finance for Forests (SFF) report: Unlock. Unleash. Realizing forest potential requires tripling investments in forests by 2030" provides a global overview of public and private forest finance in 2023, comparing current flows with the investments needed to realize forests’ potential to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.

This guidebook discusses key challenges in scaling finance for Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and provides a clear roadmap for financial institutions to follow. It highlights how financial institutions can tap into NBS-related opportunities across three domains: risk mitigation and portfolio resilience; sustainable financial growth; and emerging market opportunities and financial innovations.

Join the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations throughout 2025 for a dynamic global webinar series focused on sustainable forest-based bioeconomy approaches. From data, policies and supply chains to financing and partnerships – discover key themes and understand how to unlock the forest sector’s transformative potential for decreasing reliance on non-renewable resources in a sustainable bioeconomy and transition to climate-positive societies. Attendees will contribute to identifying globally relevant shared goals, critical challenges and priorities that can infor

Forestry is emerging as a critical sector for impact investors, offering opportunities to address climate change, biodiversity loss and economic development while generating competitive financial returns. In 2024, 15% of investors made at least one forestry investment, and just under half expect to increase their allocation to the forestry sector in the next five years, according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) State of the Market report.