The Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved $37.5 million in grants for Peru’s Natural Legacy – Amazon & Climate (PdP A&C): Effective Management of Peruvian Amazon Protected Areas for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Saturday. This landmark total investment of $74.5 million, including $37 million in cofinance, will strengthen climate mitigation and adaptation across more than 15 million hectares of the Peruvian Amazon and bolster the resilience of thousands of Indigenous people living in and around protected areas.
The project brings together the Government of Peru, the Peruvian Trust Fund for National Parks and Protected Area (Profonanpe), World Wildlife Fund, and eight Indigenous organizations to dramatically improve the effectiveness and long-term financial sustainability of 25 Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) and four buffer zones — a region covering nearly 18% of the Peruvian Amazon. Over its seven-year implementation period, the project is expected to avoid approximately 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, improve natural resource management across 15.8 million hectares, and support more than 33,000 direct beneficiaries, including nearly 12,000 people adopting climate-resilient livelihood strategies.
Along with the GCF grant, the funding package includes $37 million in cofinance to catalyze a shift in protected area finance that will yield sustainable financial flows into the protected areas for a 25-year period, guaranteeing long-term climate benefits. Profonanpe and the National System of Protected Natural Areas by the State (Sernanp) will lead the execution of the project’s protected area financing component, while WWF-Peru and the Indigenous Organizations will lead the financing of locally led investments in Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and climate-resilient productive practices (CRPPs) in some of the country’s most vulnerable Indigenous communities living in and around these protected areas. This interconnected approach is essential for reducing pressures on the country’s protected area system and supporting livelihoods linked to these ecosystems staying healthy.
“This investment builds on years of hard-won progress securing durable financing for the Amazon — and extends that model deeper into the communities at its heart,” said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US. “By combining long-term financing with the leadership of Indigenous peoples and the Government of Peru, we are creating a durable model that protects nature and strengthens community resilience across one of the most vital ecosystems on Earth.”
Closing Peru’s Protected Area Funding Gap
The project includes two components, one that supports Patrimonio Natural del Peru, led by Sernanp and implemented by Profonanpe, and a locally-led climate adaptation effort with Indigenous communities in areas adjacent to protected areas.
Patrimonio Natural del Peru, a Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiative announced in 2019, will close a $5.3 million per year funding gap in Peru’s NPA system. By expanding sustainable financing mechanisms — including tourism revenue, Payments for Ecosystem Services for water (MERESE), and environmental compensation—the project is expected to mobilize $131 million in leveraged finance over the next 25 years.
This milestone builds on WWF’s longstanding leadership in advancing PFP initiatives that are securing durable conservation financing and strengthening locally led stewardship of vital ecosystems. Patrimonio Natural del Peru is part of a growing regional tapestry of PFP initiatives — alongside efforts in Colombia and Brazil—which already protect 13.3% of the Amazon. The initiative helps sustain some of Peru’s most iconic areas, including Manu National Park, Tambopata National Reserve, Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu and the vast Pacaya Samiria National Reserve—landscapes that anchor ecological connectivity across the western Amazon. Together, these PFP initiatives form a cornerstone of WWF’s place‑based Amazon strategy, designed to maintain ecological integrity and strengthen Indigenous and community governance.
Scaling Indigenous-Led Climate Resilience
The project will also invest in locally led climate adaptation through Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and climate resilient productive practices in 30 Indigenous communities, with a framework to scale benefits to an additional 162 communities. Efforts include strengthening community governance systems, climate risk management, adaptation planning, and access to public financing — advancing GCF’s mandate to support vulnerable populations on the frontlines of climate change.
“This project will strengthen the management of protected areas in Peru’s Amazon, critical for local climate resilience as well as global climate goals. It will safeguard ecosystems while supporting the communities that depend on them,” said Kristin Lang, Director of the Green Climate Fund’s Department of Latin America and the Caribbean Region. “GCF’s funding supports the transformation of nature protection into durable climate solutions by embedding conservation in national systems. The investment reflects GCF’s commitment to strengthen country ownership and be Peru’s climate partner of choice.”
The eight Indigenous partner organizations in the GCF project are Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), Confederation of Amazonian Nationalities of Peru (CONAP), Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD), Ucayali AIDESEP Regional Organization (ORAU), Ucayali Regional Organization of Amazonian Nationalities (ORNAU), Regional Organization of Eastern Indigenous Peoples (ORPIO), Loreto Regional Organization of Amazonian Nationalities (ORNAL), and Regional Development Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Upper Amazon (ORDEPIAA).
The partners in the Patrimonio Natural del Peru PFP initiative are the Peruvian Ministry of Environment, Profonanpe, Sernanp, WWF, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, in collaboration with Andes Amazon Fund, Bezos Earth Fund, Global Environment Facility, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW, Peruvian Society for Environmental Law, and Tammy and Bill Crown.
