Financing the Future of the Andes: Creative, Realistic, and Rooted in Place

At Global Forest Generation, we’ve known from the beginning that restoring one million hectares of high-Andean native forests and safeguarding water for millions of people would require more than passion and partnerships. It would take a financial strategy as ambitious and grounded as the work itself.

This may be one of the hardest parts of our work. But we can do hard things. 

One of Acción Andina’s ongoing challenges has been diversifying its funding sources. To address this, we first needed a clear understanding of our current financial reality and how best to move toward new financial mechanisms. Through a consultancy process and the support of CrossBoundary, we undertook a comprehensive financial feasibility study. We looked honestly at the funding landscape: what’s realistic, what’s emerging, and what could sustain this movement for the next 20, 50, or even 100 years. 

The short of it is, there is no magic source of money, but more of a mosaic – a blend of traditional and innovative financing tools that together can help us move forward.

What it Will Take
We estimate that fully funding Acción Andina over the next 20 years will require more than $1 billion. It’s a daunting number, but broken down across multiple mechanisms, it’s within reach.

The road ahead involves building capacity on several fronts: structuring financial mechanisms, establishing robust Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems, strengthening internal governance, cultivating new partnerships, and grounding everything in a clear, long-term conservation plan that reflects the scale and spirit of the Andes.

Key Finance Opportunities for the Andes

• A trust fund: Setting up a trust fund or endowment has the potential to provide financial support in perpetuity, but establishing a sizable enough fund will require a large initial investment, either philanthropic or governmental. While a good longer-term solution, creating one now without major anchor donors isn’t feasible.
• Outcome-based finance: Tying funding to actual results (like water and carbon benefits) is a good idea, but it needs to be designed with and for the Indigenous and local communities who steward these ecosystems. We also need reliable systems to measure and verify our impact – something we’re actively developing.
• Regional funders: Across South America, water is becoming a rallying point. Companies in agriculture, energy, and other sectors increasingly understand that healthy forests mean reliable water supplies. Mechanisms like Payments for Ecosystem Services and Peru’s Obras por Impuestos offer real opportunities to align ecological health with business continuity.
• Private-public partnerships: We see the potential to build a coalition of water-dependent industries committed to protecting the Andes, not just out of corporate responsibility, but out of shared survival.

Join Us
Over the next several months, we’re launching pilots, testing ideas, and seeking partners who believe, like we do, that restoring the Andes is one of the most strategic and urgent climate actions on the planet.

Yes, this is complex. But we believe that lasting nature restoration is worth designing for. If you’re part of an institution, company, or donor network that’s ready to co-produce something bold, grounded, and generational, we want to hear from you.