Leveraging the Power of Nature

With the global community gathering at COP27, leaders are addressing how to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Critical ecosystems like forests can absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂), conserve biodiversity, and protect communities from extreme weather. However, global forests are under threat from deforestation, illegal logging, and unsustainable land use, which could cause these landscapes to disappear. And, as emissions are released into the atmosphere when forests are destroyed, we are further exacerbating climate change. 

In result, USAID announced a goal at COP26 in November 2021 to protect, restore, or manage 100 million hectares of critical landscapes by 2030, in alignment with President Biden’s Plan to Conserve Global Forests: Critical Carbon Sinks. Addressing climate change and conserving forests go hand in hand, but what does that look like in practice? Here are six approaches for using the power of nature to address the climate crisis:

1. Mobilizing Finance for Nature

To fund conservation efforts, mobilizing both public and private finance is key. USAID works to unlock finance for conservation, provide economic benefits to local communities, and create incentives for future investments. In Southeast Asia, USAID helps agriculture and forestry businesses adopt low-emissions practices and connect with green investors. By the end of 2022, this work will shift more than $200 million into sustainable agriculture production and sequester 25 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in the next decade, an amount nearly equal to the emissions produced from running seven coal plants for one year. 

USAID also collaborates with the private sector to conserve the world’s biodiversity. USAID’s Health, Ecosystems, and Agriculture for Resilient Thriving Societies (HEARTH) is a cross-sectoral partnership with the private sector to support local livelihoods while conserving high-biodiversity areas; it has leveraged more than $85 million in private sector funds. 

2. Improving Laws and Governance

Conserving and managing forests also requires improving the laws and governance that surround these critical areas. Through engagement with partner governments, USAID designates protections for key biodiversity areas and carbon-dense forests. In Peru, which is home to 13 percent of the Amazon rainforest, USAID works with national and local government agencies and local communities to strengthen the enforcement of regulations for forest protection. This work also ensures Indigenous Peoples and local communities are able to provide input on laws that affect them, and to combat illegal logging and deforestation. 

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USAID works to ensure that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are able to provide input on laws that affect them.

Credit: Juan Carlos Gómez

3. Advancing Equity

Indigenous communities are champions for conservation, management, and restoration efforts for the forests on which they depend. USAID works to strengthen land and resource rights and the inclusive participation of local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and underrepresented and marginalized populations. In Colombia, USAID works with the government to improve land use rights, land tenure, and access to land for local and Indigenous communities. This work also supports communities to establish initiatives to combat deforestation, conserve biodiversity, and improve natural resource management.

4. Landscape Planning

USAID works on the ground, analyzing the drivers of deforestation and degradation in a given landscape, bringing all stakeholders to the table to design sustainable land management plans, and putting those plans into practice to conserve, restore, and manage ecosystems. In the Amazon rainforest and Southeast Asia, USAID is developing multi-stakeholder landscape action plans and building local capacity to combat commodity-driven deforestation and conserve biodiversity. 

5. Building Institutional Capacity

Forest management activities also require building awareness and sharing information with local institutions. USAID strengthens institutional capacity by shaping how policies on natural climate solutions are coordinated, developed, and implemented. Through the Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP), USAID worked with the Government of Democratic Republic of Congo to improve estimates of peatland coverage and carbon storage, and helped launch the country’s first website on conserving peatlands. 

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To strengthen transparent systems on land use, USAID works with partners to produce reliable and accessible data on forests.

Credit: Blue Motus

6. Making Information Accessible 

To build upon forest conservation efforts and support restoration, it is essential to strengthen transparent systems on land use and its environmental, social, and economic impacts to improve decision-making and track progress. USAID works with agencies like NASA, non-governmental organizations, donors, and the private sector to produce reliable and accessible data on forests and lands, a key barrier to private investment in forest conservation and restoration efforts. 

To learn more about USAID’s Natural Climate Solutions or Biodiversity work, please visit: 

• USAID’s Biodiversity Conservation landing page
• USAID’s Natural Climate Solutions landing page

The author’s views do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development