About Us

The Kawari Fund is a nimble, multi-donor fund working to ensure high social integrity in the forest carbon market, thereby supporting actions to address climate change by protecting forests at scale in a manner that includes and respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities as beneficiaries, partners, and leaders in forest governance and protection.

Why Kawari exists

Launched in April 2023, Kawari exists to promote and secure the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in jurisdictional forest carbon finance initiatives.

We channel philanthropic, private, and public funds to ensure the carbon market works for — not against — the communities who have protected these forests for generations. That means advocating for rights in carbon negotiations, integrating safeguards into program design, building Indigenous capacity to engage on their own terms, and bridging the gap between governments and communities.

For more detail, the Kawari Fund Prospectus is available in English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.

How we operate

The Kawari Fund is operated and hosted by Re:wild, an organization with deep roots in conservation across 84 countries — including national and international organizations, government partners, Indigenous alliances, and grassroots organizations. That network is Kawari's backbone, connecting us to partners across every region where forests are at stake.

An Advisory Council of global experts in climate finance, biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples' rights oversees the high-level functioning of the Fund, including setting its priorities and scope.

Kawari works closely with key partners in the space, including the Jurisdictional REDD+ Technical Assistance Partnership (JTAP), the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART), Emergent (the LEAF secretariat), UN-REDD, and the Forest, People and Climate (FPC) network.

The people behind Kawari

Meet the passionate, experienced team driving Kawari Fund’s vision forward.

  • Vanessa Jiménez

    Director of the Kawari Fund

    As an experienced human rights litigator and climate finance specialist, Vanessa has spent 25 years defending the land and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples — the same work that drives everything Kawari does.

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  • Alicia Lopez

    Kawari Fund Manager

    With 11 years as a REDD+ Regional Technical Advisor and subsequent work at FAO and LEAF, Alicia has built some of the most practical expertise in forest carbon safeguards and Indigenous community engagement.

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