Forest Trends

What Forest Trends does

Forest Trends is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) founded in 1999 that develops market-based and financial mechanisms to conserve forests and other ecosystems. It operates six programmatic sub-brands: Ecosystem Marketplace (market intelligence and the State of the Market reports), the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP), the Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative (CTGI), the Forest Policy, Trade and Finance (FPTF) Initiative, the Natural Infrastructure for Water Security (NIWS) project, and the Protect What Matters communications program. Its core products are publicly available research and market-intelligence reports, technical frameworks (e.g., REDD+, biodiversity credits, ecosystem-service valuation), capacity-building workshops, and direct field implementation of nature-based solutions in partnership with Indigenous communities, government agencies, and utilities. Underlying technology includes AI-assisted satellite imagery analysis, blockchain-based supply chain ledgers, environmental DNA detection, wireless sensor networks, acoustic monitoring, and geospatial valuation frameworks that translate stewardship into quantifiable, financeable ecosystem services.

The organization is funded primarily through grants and donations from foundations, individual donors, and institutional supporters, supplemented by in-kind contributions from research publication activities. Its go-to-market is sales-led in form but nonprofit in mechanism: convening multi-stakeholder coalitions, publishing flagship reports that shape transparency in voluntary carbon and biodiversity markets, training Indigenous leaders and government staff, and serving as a policy advisor to bodies ranging from USDA Forest Service to Brazil's Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. Customer segments include government water utilities (49 of 50 in Peru), Indigenous Peoples and local communities, national policymakers, private companies facing supply-chain and ESG compliance, and forest health practitioners in wildfire-prone U.S. regions. The business model is donor-dependent and grant-funded; products and reports are distributed free of charge to maximize reach, with monetization occurring indirectly through influence on the multi-billion-dollar private nature-investment market that Forest Trends itself helps measure and shape.

Name

Forest Trends

Legal name

Forest Trends Association

Website

https://forest-trends.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forest Trends is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit founded in 1999 that pioneers market-based conservation finance through research, policy advocacy, and field programs in partnership with Indigenous communities, governments, and utilities worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conservation Finance & Environmental Advisory

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Forest Carbon Projects & Ecosystem Services (Carbon Credits, Biodiversity) (IMAMAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Accounting, Verification & Registry Services (MRV, Audits, Certification) (IMAMAJAE), Carbon Markets & Climate Finance (Offsets, Allowances, Carbon Funds) (FSAAALAH), Sustainable Real Assets (Green Real Estate, Land, Forestry) Funds (FSANAJAD), Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD), Nature & Biodiversity Reporting (TNFD, natural capital) (EUAHAJAM)

Keywords

• Conservation finance
• Ecosystem services markets
• Carbon market intelligence
• Natural infrastructure projects
• Biodiversity offsets

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions and Grants: Gifts from donors allow Forest Trends to increase the impact of their programs and support local partners. The organization nurtures next big ideas, invests in champions and coalitions driving change, and applies expert analysis and field-informed leadership. Funding comes from foundations, individual donors, and institutional supporters.
2. Research and Publication Services: Forest Trends generates impact through publishing timely research and flagship reports including the State of the Voluntary Carbon Market, State of Private Investment in Nature, and other market intelligence reports that inform conservation finance decisions globally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Forest Trends pioneers innovative finance for conservation by promoting environmental investments, payment mechanisms, and incentive structures for forests, water, climate, biodiversity, and community ecosystems. The organization delivers flagship market intelligence research (State of the Market series), coalition-building with governments, Indigenous communities, and businesses, and on-the-ground implementation of conservation finance and natural infrastructure projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ecosystem Marketplace: Forest Trends' flagship program publishing timely research on ecosystem markets, carbon markets, and nature-based solutions.
• Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP)
• Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative (CTGI)
• Forest Policy, Trade and Finance (FPTF) Initiative
• Natural Infrastructure for Water Security Project (NIWS)
• Protect What Matters

Products and services

• EM Global Carbon Hub (Ecosystem Marketplace)
• Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP)
• Natural Infrastructure for Water Security Project (NIWS)
• Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative (CTGI)
• Protect What Matters Communications Workshop
• Forest Policy, Trade and Finance (FPTF) Initiative and IDAT Dashboards
• Forest-risk Commodity Dashboard

Quantifiable outcome

• Nature-based solutions investment in Peru grew from under $12 million in 2016 to $80 million in 2023—the highest in Latin America
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Brazil Ministry of Indigenous PeoplescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2025Historic two-year project 'Strengthening Indigenous Territories: Governance, Climate Finance, and Biodiversity Value Chains' spanning all six Brazilian biomes (Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga, Pantanal, Pampa, Atlantic Forest). Includes climate finance support, territorial governance, biodiversity value chain development, and training of 240 Indigenous leaders with at least 40% women and youth.
• GreenDatacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2025Brazilian organization implementing partner for Forest Trends projects, developing solutions to promote value of territories, knowledge systems, and sustainable practices of traditional communities. Supports autonomy, wellbeing, and community resilience through social technologies and participatory methodologies.
• USDA Forest ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership for the 'Protect What Matters' communications workshop program to support coordination of government, industry, utilities, and other entities to protect and restore the nation's forests. Focuses on Colorado Front Range with plans for broader national relevance.
• The Nature ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-publishing the 'Gaining Ground: State of Private Investment in Nature 2026' flagship report, finding that private investment in nature has grown substantially over the past decade with over $60 billion deployed. Annual flows increased fivefold from $2.8 billion in 2016 to over $14 billion in 2025.
• International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity CreditscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on comprehensive global mapping of government-led approaches to nature credit markets, the first systematic study drawing on interviews with over 70 stakeholders from more than 35 countries.
• Environmental Policy Innovation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace on the global mapping study of nature credit markets, identifying three market archetypes and covering 19 operational frameworks spanning six continents.
• GreenCollarflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three experts introducing a practitioner-led forum on integrity issues in nature-based carbon markets, including topics such as exaggerated emission reductions, questionable additionality, and stakeholder impacts.
• Calyx GlobalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three experts introducing a practitioner-led forum on integrity issues in nature-based carbon markets, aiming to fill a gap between academic journals and fast-paced media commentary with monthly contributions organized around quarterly themes.
• Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundational grassroots Indigenous organization consulted in designing the 'Strengthening Indigenous Territories' project, ensuring decisions reflect Indigenous perspectives across all six Brazilian biomes.
• Rights and Resources InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForest Trends co-founded the Rights and Resources Initiative (now 150+ organizations globally) in 2004, which has become a global leader in advancing Indigenous and community land rights.
• Katoomba GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForest Trends launched the Katoomba Group in 1999 to bring together thinkers and doers shaping markets for nature. Marked its 25th anniversary with a gathering in Australia.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Climate Focus: Specialist advisory and research firm focused on REDD+, climate finance, and nature-based solutions policy. Closely comparable in mission, methodology (policy analysis, coalition building), and target audience (governments and multilaterals pursuing nature finance).
• World Resources Institute: Global research organization with parallel work on forest monitoring (Global Forest Watch), carbon markets, MRV, and corporate sustainability disclosure. Highly comparable as a DC-headquartered, think-tank-style operation producing open-access data products used by the same set of policymakers and corporates.
• Meridian Institute: Boulder-based nonprofit that designs multi-stakeholder processes and convenings on natural resources, energy, and climate—directly comparable to Forest Trends' facilitation, coalition-building, and policy mediation operating model.
• Earth Innovation Institute: NGO focused on jurisdictional approaches to forest protection, sustainable commodity supply chains, and Indigenous-led economies—closely matching Forest Trends' coalition model and tropical forest focus in Latin America.

Broad incumbents

• Rainforest Alliance: Operates forest certification, sustainable supply-chain programs, and corporate engagement on deforestation-free commodities. Overlaps with Forest Trends on traceability, due-diligence tooling, and the EUDR compliance stack while operating at greater commercial scale.
• Conservation International: Major global environmental NGO that works on forest carbon, biodiversity credits, and corporate nature strategies. Overlaps heavily with Forest Trends on voluntary carbon market integrity and nature-based solutions work, but at significantly larger scale.
• The Nature Conservancy: Largest global conservation NGO with deep overlap in forest conservation, ecosystem markets research, and nature-based solutions investment. Direct co-publishing partner with Forest Trends on flagship investment-in-nature reports and operates at vastly larger scale across the same mandate.
• World Wildlife Fund (US): Large global conservation organization with parallel work on forest stewardship, sustainable finance, illegal deforestation trade, and Indigenous-led conservation. Operates as a campaign-and-program-driven organization while Forest Trends is more research/convening oriented, but covers the same problems.
• Wildlife Conservation Society: Global conservation NGO combining field programs and policy advocacy. Comparable on forest governance and biodiversity work but with a more species-and-landscape orientation rather than Forest Trends' finance-and-markets focus.

Emerging players

• Natural Capital Project (Stanford): Academic-affiliated initiative building open-source geospatial valuation tools (InVEST) used by governments and corporates to quantify ecosystem services. Comparable to Forest Trends' geospatial valuation and MRV work but from an academic rather than convening/coalition position.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ForestTrends
• Xx.com/foresttrendsorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forest Trends