TB-NbS Fund Investment in Choco, Colombia

The largest legally-recognized Afro-Colombian territory in Colombia, Consejo Comunitario Mayor de la Asociación Campesina Integral del Atrato (COCOMACIA), has partnered with the Colombian government’s Corporacion Autonoma Regional Para El Desarrollo Sostenible Del Chocó, Colombia (CODECHOCO) and Terra Global Capital, LLC to deploy private sector climate finance for a fully nested Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) Program within a jurisdictional Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) across the department of Chocó, Colombia.

Spanning over 695,000 hectares, the COCOMACIA Community REDD+ Program is implementing activities that reduce forest deforestation and degradation, and improve livelihoods, while following a gender-sensitive approach to produce high-quality, multiple-benefit Verified Emission Reductions/Removals (VERRs).

In September, the Terra Bella - Nature Based Solutions Carbon Pool (TB-NbS Fund) committed a follow-on investment to the Program, leveraging the initial private sector investment made in mid-2021. These climate finance investments into COCOMACIA Community REDD+ Program represent a shift in access to finance for COCOMACIA from traditional, short-term grant-based funding to private climate finance, empowering COCOMACIA to develop a long-term sustainable source of finance from monetization of VERRs.

COCOMACIA is a national leader and has long been at the heart of Afro-Colombian self-administration of their natural resource management. With this climate finance transaction, local leaders are catalyzed to better govern their financial future, ensuring the long-term viability and scalability of their conservation efforts through the generation and monetization of high-quality, multiple-benefit VERRs that meet the newest requirements under Verra with co-benefits certified under the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standard. In the first 18 years, this Program is expected to generate 21 million tCO2e, which is projected to produce more than USD $180 million in carbon revenue that will be channeled directly to the COCOMACIA community.  

The COCOMACIA Board of Directors remarked on the long-term commitment and collaborative process with Terra Global, which ensured a deep understanding of the financial and technical components of the Program, deployed by the TB-NbS fund, highlighting “the availability and patience of the Terra team in arranging the new investment for the COCOMACIA REDD+ Program. [COCOMACIA] [is] taking significant steps in strengthening territorial and environmental governance and sustainable production for the communities in the middle Atrato.” Prior to the first investment, 18 months were spent developing the Program’s investment readiness requirements from the TB-NbS Fund. This collaborative process resulted in the co-development of key Program documents and processes, including a long-term implementation workplan, implementation budget, projected cashflows, project monitoring plan, benefits allocation plan, and gender action plan. 

Carbon markets allow communities to secure the Program funding needed from private investors, who are repaid in VERRs. To navigate the changing carbon market standards for REDD+, the three parties signed a FREL Agreement in early 2024, marking Colombia's first Jurisdictional Nested REDD+ (JNR) baseline following Verra’s standards. This FREL agreement was made possible through close collaboration between COCOMACIA, Terra Global, and CODECHOCO. Applying the Verra Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ Framework, the technical approach to quantifying the FREL draws on proven methodologies that have been used for decades, combined with new, improved methods to create a FREL that is spatially explicit, with robust risk mapping to accurately account for AUDD REDD+ projects across the entire department. The signing of this FREL Agreement creates a predictable pathway to issuance of VERRs and was a critical component of securing the final investment from the TB-NbS Fund. 

The COCOMACIA Community REDD+ Program is setting new standards for how community-driven projects can deliver environmental, economic, and social benefits. The success of the initiative investment would not have been possible without the strong involvement of the COCOMACIA community, the financial backing of the TB-NbS Fund, and CODECHOCO’s support through the FREL agreement. Together, these partners are ensuring that the Program not only preserves Colombia's rich biodiversity but also creates long-lasting economic opportunities for its people.