WRI’s TerraMatch project developed an innovative model for investing in local restoration projects at scale across the world. TerraMatch has supported more than 200 projects that have collectively planted more than 30 million trees and created tens of thousands of jobs.
The Challenge
Land degradation is a massive problem for both people and nature. In 2023, the world’s tropical primary forests lost 3.7 million hectares of tree cover — roughly 10 football fields of forest per minute. Meanwhile, 1 billion people are living on degraded land, suffering consequences like reduced crop yields and loss of livelihoods.
This problem has a local solution: Research shows that community groups and small farmers restore land 6 to 20 times more effectively than international NGOs or national governments while delivering more sustainable and equitable results. Yet many local organizations and individuals cannot access the funding needed to scale their work. Traditional financing mechanisms often exclude these “restoration champions” in favor of larger projects.
WRI’s Role
WRI developed the innovative TerraMatch system: an end-to-end process to select, fund and track local restoration organizations and entrepreneurs.
The model began with the Priceless Planet Coalition. Formed in 2020, the project brought together Conservation International, Mastercard and WRI to restore 100 million trees using TerraMatch. Then in 2021, WRI convened partners including One Tree Planted and Realize Impact to launch TerraFund, harnessing the TerraMatch system to invest in 100 local “restoration champions” across Africa.
Building on the champions’ feedback, WRI refined its financial, project management, and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems to better support them. These successes helped expand the project to include private equity partner Barka Fund and secure additional funding from Bezos Earth Fund and the TED Audacious Project. This eventually led to a second cohort of restoration champions through TerraFund and new restoration funds in India and Brazil.
The Outcome
Across Africa, 198 projects led by TerraFund restoration champions have attracted more than $32 million in finance, planted more than 21.2 million trees, brought 43,500 hectares of degraded land under restoration, created 58,500 full- and part-time jobs, and provided livelihood and other benefits to nearly 170,000 people. Work through the Priceless Planet Coalition has brought $28 million to restoration champions in six countries, who have planted 10.7 million trees and begun restoring 7,500 hectares.
And the work continues to grow: TerraMatch’s reported metrics and cutting-edge satellite data track, verify and showcase restoration champions’ impacts to help drive additional investment. Success across Africa has inspired stakeholders in India and Brazil to adapt the TerraMatch approach, leading to the Harit Bharat Fund in India and a planned fund for the Brazilian Amazon.
By centering the needs of local restoration champions, adopting innovative financial structures and continuously improving its processes, TerraMatch is building the foundation for a self-sustaining restoration economy. The project aims to help achieve WRI’s goal of restoring 40 million hectares of degraded land by 2027.
