The Amazon rainforest conservation blockchain, backed by a major development bank, covers 750 million hectares over 30 years.
An Amazon rainforest conservation blockchain partnership between CAF – the development bank for Latin America and the Caribbean – and O.N.E. Amazon aims to transform rainforest conservation through an innovative financial instrument. The collaboration announced during COP16 in Cali, Colombia, will create tradable digital assets tied to voluntary conservation commitments across the Amazon biome.
The initiative responds to urgent threats facing the Amazon rainforest, where current deforestation rates could eliminate 27% of tree cover by 2030. The Amazon rainforest conservation blockchain program will convert conservation commitments into marketable assets, providing investors with verified data about protected areas over 30 years.
Under the framework, 70% of the asset values will fund sustainable investments through a dedicated impact fund. This approach aims to demonstrate that protecting the Amazon’s 750 million hectares can generate sufficient financial returns to compensate conservation efforts while potentially funding additional ecosystem preservation across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The partnership’s scope includes:
- Development of Amazon rainforest conservation blockchain tracking systems
- Coordination with government authorities and Indigenous communities
- Promotion of digital asset financial regulations
- Support for new ecosystem conservation projects
This initiative follows similar successful conservation financing models implemented in other regions. The Costa Rica Environmental Services Payment program has successfully monetized forest conservation since 1997, distributing over $500 million to landowners and protecting more than 1.3 million hectares of forest through direct payments for ecosystem services.
Indonesia’s Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve, spanning 64,500 hectares of tropical peat swamp forest, generates carbon credits through forest protection, preventing the release of 130 million tons of carbon dioxide while supporting 2,500 households across 14 villages.
In Africa, the Republic of Congo’s carbon credit program preserves 1.2 million hectares of rainforest while generating revenue for local communities through REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), a UN-backed framework that allows countries to earn carbon credits for preventing deforestation. The Congo project, the world’s largest REDD+ initiative by area, has issued over 8.6 million carbon credits since 2013, demonstrating the viability of market-based conservation at scale.
Sergio Díaz-Granados, Executive President of CAF, emphasized that the Amazon rainforest conservation blockchain initiative will showcase how nature conservation can deliver direct financial returns for ecosystem protectors. Meanwhile, O.N.E. Amazon’s Rodrigo Veloso highlighted the program’s goal of making forest preservation more economically valuable than alternative land uses.
The Amazon rainforest serves as a critical global resource, supporting over 10% of the world’s known biodiversity with an estimated 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 430 mammal species, and more than 378 reptile species, along with over 400 indigenous communities maintaining traditional ways of life.
The forest plays an essential role in global climate regulation systems, creating its own precipitation patterns that influence weather across South America and beyond. The forest acts as a vital hub for oxygen production, generating about 6% of Earth’s oxygen, while its carbon capture operations sequester an estimated 123 billion tons of carbon above and below ground, making it indispensable for planetary environmental stability and climate change mitigation.
The partnership represents a nature-based solution designed to create long-term, sustainable market mechanisms for rainforest preservation. By combining blockchain technology with scientific data, the program aims to establish transparent, verifiable conservation outcomes that can attract international market investment.
This collaboration marks a significant step in developing financial instruments that align economic incentives with environmental preservation. The success of the Amazon rainforest conservation blockchain initiative could provide a model for similar conservation efforts worldwide, demonstrating how innovative financial mechanisms can support large-scale ecosystem protection while generating sustainable returns for stakeholders.
