Officials call for scaled-up finance as Forest Investment Marketplace convenes in Hanoi
The event is organised in Hanoi from March 30 to April 1 with the participation of over 60 representatives from Asia, Africa and beyond, including from forest country governments, private sector investors, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and international organisations.
Opening sessions featured remarks from senior representatives of UNEP and the UN-REDD Programme, alongside high-level government representatives from Vietnam and international partners.
Over the course of the event, discussions are structured around three main themes, including pipeline and enterprise readiness. The theme focuses on how forest enterprises can be supported through incubation and acceleration programmes, and how policy and institutional frameworks can enable their development.
Participants will share experiences from different regions, including Southeast Asia and Africa, where enterprises in sectors such as bamboo, rattan and non-timber forest products are navigating increasing demands for traceability, sustainability and compliance with international standards.
At the second theme, named finance and de-risking instruments. Speakers will clarify the reason capital exists globally but often does not reach forest-based SMEs due to perceived risks, high transaction costs and misalignment between financial products and enterprise realities.
The third theme, “JREDD+ and Inclusion,” examines the role of jurisdictional REDD+ frameworks as enabling platforms for investment. As countries advance REDD+ programmes, these frameworks are increasingly seen not only as tools for carbon accounting but also as mechanisms to strengthen governance, clarify tenure, reduce deforestation risk and support sustainable value chains.
Annette Wallgren, UN-REDD Asia-Pacific coordinator at UNEP, said, “Over the past 15 years, UN-REDD have supported more than 65 countries in building the foundations for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, what we can call REDD+, including strengthening national forest monitoring systems, developing safeguards and benefit-sharing mechanisms, and supporting institutional readiness.”
“Our focus has shifted from readiness to implementation and market access. This means helping countries navigate a rapidly evolving forest finance landscape – connecting jurisdictional initiatives to demand, ensuring integrity and supporting countries to engage with carbon markets and results-based finance. At the same time, the UN-REDD supports social forestry and forest enterprise development for a strong local ownership.”
Thomas Gass, Ambassador of Switzerland to Vietnam, underscored the need to translate growing global interest in forests into real-life, scalable investments that reach enterprises on the ground.
“If we want to achieve our ambitions, we need to find the right financial instruments and build enabling conditions to attract and enable investments to flow into the sustainable management of forests. To achieve this, we need the perspectives of policymakers, of investors, of entrepreneurs and of development partners to identify the ways to overcome the various challenges today and identify the most promising solutions for tomorrow,” he said.
At a time when global attention is increasingly focused on climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable supply chains, forest-based enterprises are emerging as critical actors. Yet despite their potential, these enterprises continue to face systemic barriers.
According to recent assessments under the UN-REDD Programme, global finance for forests must triple by 2030 to meet climate and biodiversity goals, while the majority of existing funding remains public or grant-based. Risk-tolerant capital for early-stage enterprises, particularly in developing economies, remains scarce, and pathways to markets and investment are often unclear.
The Forest Investment Marketplace is responding directly to these challenges by creating a structured space for dialogue and cooperation. Rather than focusing solely on individual components such as enterprise incubation or investment mechanisms, the event adopts a systems approach – bringing together actors across the full-value chain, from enterprise development and supply chains to finance and jurisdictional governance frameworks, particularly those associated with REDD+.
The programme opened with a field visit on March 30, offering participants the opportunity to engage directly with local forest and nature-based enterprises in Vietnam. The country provides a particularly relevant context for these discussions. As a major producer of forest-based commodities such as bamboo and rattan, the country is deeply integrated into global supply chains that are undergoing rapid transformation.
New regulatory frameworks, including deforestation-free requirements and environmental, social and governance standards, are reshaping market expectations. For Vietnamese enterprises, this creates both challenges and opportunities, highlighting the need for stronger linkages between production, compliance, finance and international markets.
Beyond dialogue, the Forest Investment Marketplace is designed to generate practical outcomes. By the end of the three days, organisers expect to have advanced a shared understanding of how to move from fragmented support systems to more integrated investment ecosystems for forest-based enterprises. In doing so, the Marketplace aims to contribute to a broader shift in how forests are valued, not only as environmental assets but also as foundations for sustainable and inclusive economic development.
The Forest Investment Marketplace is part of ongoing efforts by UNEP and the UN-REDD Programme to support countries in mobilising finance for forests, strengthening governance frameworks and encouraging sustainable livelihoods. By convening diverse stakeholders in Hanoi, the event seeks to catalyse new forms of collaboration that can help bridge the gap between ambition and implementation in forest and climate finance.
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