Panama rainforest stewardship & land purchase

Dear supporters,

2025 marked our third year supporting our Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) program, made possible by your generous contributions in honor of our son, Zev Francisco.

Over this period, $10,000 were invested in local families who stewarded 23 hectares of rainforest, resulting in an estimated 800 tCO2 captured. Alongside implementation, we explored opportunities to scale this model, including engagement with potential investors and contributions to national conversations on carbon markets in Panama. However, with the voluntary carbon market currently stalled, broader scaling is not yet viable.

Despite this, the program has been instrumental in building relationships with landholders interested in conservation. We are now exploring the creation of Panama’s first smallholder-led private preserve, bringing together families who see themselves as long-term stewards of the rainforest. We look forward to sharing more on this initiative soon.

Through this work, we also began collaborating with jaguar researchers at KAMINANDO, supporting biodiversity monitoring through the placement of camera traps in areas previously enrolled in PES. We hope to continue contributing to this important research.

Finally, we have identified several landholders who are interested in selling their land, as well as aligned individual and institutional donors. We are currently facilitating the conservation purchase of 20 hectares, with potential for additional land protection efforts.

Thank you for your continued support and trust in our work.

The Friends of the Forest in Madrono

Links:

• Co-founder article "Panama's Carbon Market"/SAPENIES #8 Dec 2025