Programmes

Human Rights Spotlight II combines companies’ need for credible, useable HRDD evidence to drive transformative, locally rooted systemic change, building on the outcomes of the programme's first phase (2023-2025).

• Length: 2026 - 2028
• Goals: Improve human rights outcomes in sugarcane supply chains in Brazil by strengthening the management of salient risks, including those exacerbated by climate change, increasing the resilience of suppliers and communities to climate and other shocks, and fostering collaborative action among mills and other stakeholders to address systemic challenges.
• Outcomes: Mills strengthen their monitoring and regional collaboration and co‑develop a context‑adapted HRDD methodology that integrates climate risk factors, building resilience within sugarcane production systems to prevent, mitigate and remediate human rights risks.
• Financing: In 2026, the programme is supported by Bonsucro, with additional co‑funding to be mobilised over the implementation period.
• Partners: Imaflora

Programme website

Accelerating progress of the Cerrado Protocol and expanding monitoring to a National level.

Length: 2026 - 2030 

Goals: Implement and operationalise the governance of the Cerrado Protocol and a National Responsible Cattle Programme, ensuring its broader and effective adoption as a voluntary socio‑environmental monitoring framework for cattle sourcing in the Cerrado biome and  
other regions not covered by agreements with Federal Prosecutors. 

Outcomes: Fully functioning governance structure for Cerrado and National Programme; expanded adoption of Cerrado Protocol; promoted reintegration and incentives mechanisms for producers, building capacity of slaughterhouses and tanneries, increasing support to MPF, improved transparency regarding company commitments and implementation results. 
Financing: Financing is required to subsidise the coordination, capacity building, stakeholder engagement and improved transparency systems.

Partners: Imaflora, Amigos da Terra

Programme website

Insetting, referring to decarbonisation in supply chains, can help unlock private climate finance for high-integrity action towards positive outcomes in the Forest Land and Agriculture (FLAG) sector in key producing countries. 

Length: 2026 - 2030 

Goals: The project aims to leverage insetting as a financing mechanism for positive impacts on the ground in the FLAG sector, including climate mitigation, people and nature goals, as well as resilience at the landscape level. 

Outcomes: 

1. Capacity building and guidance on high integrity insetting: focusing on tools and materials to build capacity in key producing regions; as well as defining a High Integrity Insetting (HII) Taxonomy to evaluate projects, based on the HII principles
2. Influencing key accounting and target-setting standards: advocating for the inclusion of producer realities (regionalisation); near-value chain mitigation in landscapes; and people and nature as core benefits with key standards including SBTi and GHGP. 

Financing: After programme design, funding will be required for development and implementation.

Partners: iCS

Proforest's work on Climate

Consensus building and technical support to national policies on transparent supply chains of soft commodities, integrating traceability and compliance to meet market requirements.

Length: 2026 - 2030 

Goals: Strengthen traceability, monitoring, and transparency in the Brazilian beef and soy supply chains while delivering positive outcomes for people, nature, and climate.

Outcomes: Deliver tangible improvements in supply chain integrity and sustainability, including adoption of due diligence, traceability and monitoring systems, reduced socio‑environmental risks, and greater compliance with national and international regulations and market requirements.

Financing: Financing is an enabler for Proforest actions and collaboration with Brazilian Coalition. Funding will support private sector and government engagement, development of studies, guidance, tools and dry runs to support implementing and improving the AB+S platform and meeting international market requirements (eg. EUDR, UK, China).

Partners: Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forest and Agriculture

Period: 2023–2026

Donor: Walmart Foundation

Goal: The project aims to support a deforestation-free, climate-resilient cocoa production landscape in the Asunafo-Asutifi Hotspot Intervention Area, while improving farmer livelihoods and strengthening community-led natural resource governance.

Objectives:

• Strengthen inclusive landscape governance through Community Resource Management Areas and local management structures.
• Restore degraded forest areas and enhance tree cover across cocoa-forest mosaics.
• Improve access to farmer support services, technical training, farm inputs and farm management assistance through Rural Service Centres.
• Expand access to affordable finance through revolving funds that support farmers, women and community groups.
• Promote sustainable cocoa production, forest conservation and livelihood resilience across the landscape.

Achievements:

Phase 1: Asutifi South, 2023–2024

• Established the Dadiesoaba Community Resource Management Area and a fully equipped Rural Service Centre to provide technical and farm management support to more than 15,000 farmers.
• Rehabilitated 266 hectares of degraded forest reserve through the Modified Taungya System.
• Planted more than 500,000 multipurpose tree seedlings on-reserve and off-reserve.
• Set up a revolving fund to support financial inclusion and helped grow membership of the Asunafo North Co-operative Cocoa Farmers Mutual Support group from 17,500 to 20,000.

Phase 2: Asunafo North, 2025–2026

• Scaling impact across the Asunafo-Asutifi landscape by building on the systems, partnerships and trust established in Phase 1.
• Establishing a new Community Resource Management Area covering 21,000 hectares in the Asumura enclave.
• Constructing a second Rural Service Centre at Asumura to expand access to farmer services.
• Introducing a new revolving fund to increase access to low-interest loans.
• Rehabilitating 250 hectares of degraded forest and enhancing tree stock across more than 8,000 hectares of cocoa-forest mosaics.

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Period: 2025–2027

Donors: European Forest Institute, with support from the European Union Sustainable Forest and Cocoa Programme.

Project Goal: To restore degraded forest areas and strengthen climate-resilient cocoa landscapes in the Asunafo-Asutifi area by promoting dynamic agroforestry, inclusive landscape governance and improved livelihood opportunities for farming communities.

Objectives:

• Expand training in dynamic agroforestry to improve farm productivity, increase tree cover and support climate-smart cocoa production.
• Restore grossly degraded forest reserves and enhance ecological functions across the landscape.
• Strengthen multi-stakeholder landscape governance structures with a focus on environmental, social and governance priorities.
• Improve access to finance and promote alternative livelihoods that reduce pressure on forests and support household resilience.

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Period: 2020–2025

Donors/ Partners: Norwegian Government through the World Bank. Partners include the Liberia Land Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Development Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, IDH, Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia and Fauna & Flora International.

Goal: To support community-led land governance in Liberia by strengthening participatory land use planning, securing customary land rights and promoting sustainable management of forests, agriculture, mining and other land uses.

Objectives: 

• Helps communities identify biodiversity threats, map future land-use zones, resolve boundary conflicts and align local priorities with national land policies.
• Promotes Free, Prior and Informed Consent and builds capacity among government, civil society, private sector actors and communities.

Results/Achievement: 

• By July 2023, Proforest had supported completion of Participatory Land Use Plans in 40 areas, covering 19 districts in southeast Liberia and 21 clan areas in the northwest. The work enabled communities to progress towards land deeds under the Land Rights Act, mapped priority forest zones including Gola and Ziama-Wonegizi-Wologizi, and integrated traditional resource management and medicinal plant protection into local planning.

Period: 2020 - 2023

Donors/ partners: German Government through IKI. Partners include Impactum, GIZ, government ministries, the Prefectures of San Pedro and Tabou, local sub-prefectures, traditional authorities, the San Pedro Region, community representatives, sector organisations and agro-industrial companies.

Goal: To support San Pedro to become a greener and more resilient production landscape where forests are protected and restored, biodiversity is conserved, agriculture is sustainable and climate-smart, and local communities benefit from improved livelihoods.

Objectives:

• Promotes sustainable cocoa, palm oil and rubber production; supports forest protection, restoration and reforestation; improves land tenure security; strengthens women’s and youth participation; and establishes inclusive governance structures for land-use planning, forest management and environmental safeguards.

Results/Achievement: The initiative has strengthened collaboration among government agencies, communities, companies and civil society organisations. It has also supported the development of a Management and Investment Plan for the San Pedro landscape, alongside governance and monitoring systems designed to improve accountability, safeguard communities and deliver long-term conservation and livelihood benefits.

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Period: June 2022 – February 2023

Donor/ Partners: Partnerships for Forests (P4F)

Goal: Support the development of a Produce–Protect–Rehabilitate (PPR) model to promote sustainable oil palm production and forest restoration in Edo State, Nigeria. Working with Market and Social Research (MSR), the Edo State Oil Palm Programme, state government institutions, oil palm companies, smallholder farmers, and local communities, Proforest helped design a forest regeneration facility aligned with Edo State’s commitment to conserve and restore one hectare of forest for every five hectares of oil palm development.

 Proforest provided technical expertise in sustainable land use, forest governance, stakeholder engagement, partnership development, and institutional strengthening. The project also developed recommendations for policy reform, institutional capacity building, smallholder organisation, awareness creation, and sustainable financing to support long-term implementation of the PPR framework.

Key achievements:

• Feasibility and market assessment of Edo State’s oil palm sector, the development of a business case and pilot business plan for forest regeneration, partnership and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) development, and support for establishing the Edo State Forestry Commission to strengthen sustainable forest management and responsible palm oil production.

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