FOREST TRENDS ASSOCIATION

FOREST POLICY, TRADE & FINANCE INITIATIVE: THE FOREST POLICY, TRADE AND FINANCE INITIATIVE WAS CREATED IN THE EARLY 2000S WHEN THE ORGANIZATION REALIZED THAT EMERGING MARKETS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND PRODUCTS WERE CONTINUING TO BE UNDERMINED BY CHEAP AND ILLEGAL FOREST PRODUCTS. SINCE THEN, THE FPTF PROGRAM HAS BEEN WORKING TO "SQUEEZE OUT" THE PROFITABILITY AND MARKET ACCESS OF ILLEGALLY SOURCED TIMBER AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. THE ULTIMATE AIM OF THE FPTF PROGRAM IS TO SUPPORT MARKET TRANSFORMATION AWAY FROM PRODUCTS SOURCED ILLEGALLY FROM FOREST AREAS, DEVELOPING EXCELLENT DATA AND POLICY ANALYSIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH STAKEHOLDERS, AND MENTORING AND CONVENING 'COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE' AT THE INTERSECTION OF GOOD FOREST GOVERNANCE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, TRADE CONTROLS, SECURE RESOURCE RIGHTS, AND SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT. THE INITIATIVE'S THEORY OF CHANGE HINGES UPON A COMBINATION OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND SIDE INTERVENTIONS AT THIS INTERSECTION OF POLICY, GOVERNANCE, TRANSPARENCY, AND SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE PRODUCTION.MEKONG: PREVENTING DEFORESTATIONS BEFORE IT HAPPENS THROUGH STOPPING ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION, FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE, CREATING NEW STRATEGIES IN TRACING ILLEGAL TIMBER AND WORKING BOTH WITH CONSUMERS AND PRODUCERS.

WATER INITIATIVE: RECOGNIZING THE MULTIPLE VALUES, INCLUDING SUPPLIES OF CLEAN WATER, WHICH FORESTS PROVIDE TO PEOPLE, FOREST TRENDS HAS WORKED FROM INCEPTION TO PROMOTE THE USE OF INCENTIVES AND MARKET-BASED INSTRUMENTS TO PROTECT AND SUSTAINABLY MANAGE WATERSHED SERVICES. FOREST TRENDS HELPED ESTABLISH THE CHESAPEAKE BAY FUND, AN INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN FOREST TRENDS, THE WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE, AND THE CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION, TO RESTORE AND PROTECT THE BAY'S WATER QUALITY. IN 2010, WE LAUNCHED THE FIRST STATE OF WATERSHED PAYMENTS REPORT, THE FIRST GLOBAL SURVEY OF INCENTIVE AND MARKET-BASED INSTRUMENTS FOR PROTECTING HYDROLOGICAL SERVICES.GLOBAL WATER IN 2018, USAID AND THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA MADE A MAJOR $28 MILLION COMMITMENT (IN 2013 THIS COMMITMENT WAS INCREASED TO $52,181,653 TO THE NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR WATER SECURITY PROJECT IN PERU, LED BY FOREST TRENDS AND PARTNERS. FOREST TRENDS ALSO CREATED THE FIRST-EVER COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE COURSE ON NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE WATER SECTOR IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ASSOCIATION OF LATIN AMERICAN WATER UTILITY REGULATORS (ADERASA) AND FINANCING EXPERTS AT ECODECISIN. TO DATE, FOREST TRENDS HAS TRAINED 126 ENGINEERS AND WATER SERVICE PROVIDERS (70 MEN AND 56 WOMEN) IN 13 COUNTRIES IN DESIGNING AND EVALUATING NATURE-BASED INTERVENTIONS. THE COURSE IS IN ITS THIRD - PERENNIALLY OVERSUBSCRIBED - ITERATION. FTA RECEIVED A TERMINATION LETTER OF THESE PROGRAMS AS OF JANUARY 2025.