Corruption in the forestry sector continues to undermine the rights & livelihoods of local & Indigenous communities. By institutionalising the use of ForestLink, we empower local communities beyond enforcement - the system has proven critical in tackling this corruption, enabling communities to document land rights violations & illegal activities, defend their territories & secure access to justice, whilst securing sustainable economic opportunities linked to forest resources.  

 Crucially, ForestLink supports sustainable economic activities & lays the groundwork for payment for environmental services by reinforcing community autonomy & stewardship of natural resources. Through partnerships with local organisations skilled in legal advocacy & sustainable enterprise, communities are supported to develop livelihoods aligned with forest protection. Key enabling factors include understanding current economic practices, ensuring financial support for legal actions & engaging in parallel advocacy to secure land rights.  

By actively managing and defending their lands, communities reinforce their autonomy & contribute to long-term, locally driven development. The data collected through the tool also plays a crucial role in supporting access to justice - providing evidence for legal & non-legal actions when communities face human rights abuses or environmental crimes.  

Using a digital tool to collect & analyse data is innovative, but real impact comes from applying that data to support advocacy & law enforcement for the protection of forests & local communities & Indigenous peoples’ rights. To this end, strong local, national & international advocacy networks are needed to take action against reported abuses & to achieve legal & policy changes. By enabling information to be shared between users & opening up data to the general public when consent has been given, the tool facilitates collaborative working for greater impact.  

This digital tool's efficiency relies on the fact that it is accessible from remote areas & easy to use for local & Indigenous communities. 

It allows grassroots data to be gathered to feed national and global advocacy. Its adaptability also lies in the fact that it can be used to monitor a variety of issues (illegal logging - artisanal or industrial, mining, carbon market projects' impact, GBV, etc.), in a variety of contexts.   

The evidence is building that granting Indigenous peoples & other local communities' control over their territories improves forest protection, as they are directly invested in the survival of forests & want to ensure that future generations can continue to live & thrive in them. Yet a lot of development, environmental & climate-related programs are not created in collaboration with the people who will be impacted by them. Therefore, our solution arose from the challenges that grassroots organisations & Indigenous & local communities brought to our attention. Those communities are the ones living all the forests illegalities & land tenure violations. By directly tackling their challenge it ensures the solution to be genuine & efficient. Working with them directly helps us to better understand the contexts they are facing & adapt the tool in consequence.  

This building block highlights the importance of aligning economic incentives with ecosystem conservation. NFTree increases the opportunity cost of deforestation by providing financial rewards for preserving forests. By connecting private-sector funding to biodiversity-rich carbon sinks, NFTree ensures that conservation becomes a competitive and sustainable land-use option. The integration of digital tools and financial mechanisms creates a model where ecological preservation supports both environmental and economic resilience.

This building block utilizes advanced technology to monitor, report, and verify (MRV) conservation outcomes. The MRV system integrates satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and on-ground data to measure carbon stocks, forest productivity, and biodiversity in the Andean Chocó. This robust system provides high-resolution data to validate the ecological impact of conservation efforts, ensuring transparency and attracting high-integrity climate financing.

This building block introduces the tokenization of conservation efforts using blockchain technology. NFTree tokenizes 10x10 meter plots of conserved or restored forest land, creating unique digital assets that represent carbon sequestration and biodiversity credits. These tokens are purchased by individuals and companies to offset their carbon footprints, with funds directly channeled to local conservation initiatives. The blockchain ledger ensures transparency, traceability, and accountability in transactions, making conservation efforts more attractive to investors and contributors.

This building block establishes decentralized governance structures using a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). It ensures transparent and equitable distribution of conservation funds to local land stewards while empowering them with decision-making authority. The DAO model integrates community members into governance, enabling scalable and bottom-up landscape management that complements top-down conservation initiatives

Inclusive and participatory mapping of all stakeholders in the mangrove space in the five counties of Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu. A series of meetings for sensitization on the National Mangrove Management Plan, and later facilitated formation of the national and five county committees. The committees were then facilitated in developing their workplans and executing some of the activities. This has since been picked up. 

This building block strengthened governance by enhancing the oversight capacity of MBOMIPA WMA’s Authorized Association (AA) and Board of Trustees through structured peer-learning and institutional reforms. A 5-day exchange visit to Randilen WMA (that has been considered as one of economically viable WMA in the Northern Tanzania being valued by their constituent communities) enabled 21 WMA leaders to adopt proven practices, including clear role separation (Board/AA/Management), financial oversight tools (Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Portal, invoicing systems), and community engagement strategies (equitable benefit-sharing and conflict resolution). Post-visit evaluation revealed 92.5% of leaders demonstrated improved governance knowledge and 85% noted enhanced transparency. Key outcomes included a development of MBOMIPA WMA Board Constitution and a 25% revenue increase from new tourism investments ensuring accountable management and aligned conservation-community goals.