SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS (SAP) TECHNICAL GUIDELINES

The guidelines outline the scope of the forest and land use result area, identifying key intervention areas such as forest restoration, sustainable management, deforestation-free supply chains, and REDD+. It defines the 'paradigm shift' required for sustainable development pathways and provides a framework for impact measurement using GCF's integrated results management framework. The document also lists indicative 'SAP-able' activities, such as blockchain for forest management and agroforestry, while explicitly excluding activities that cause resettlement or use exotic species that harm native biodiversity.

• Forests and land use are critical for both climate adaptation and mitigation, with tropical deforestation contributing to one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The GCF identifies four primary intervention areas for SAP projects in this sector: forest restoration, conservation and sustainable management of forest landscapes, the creation of deforestation-free commodity supply chains, and the upscaling of REDD+ results-based payments.
• Forest restoration offers significant economic and climate benefits, with the potential to remove 42 billion tonnes of carbon by 2100 and generate USD 7–30 in economic benefits for every dollar invested, despite a funding gap of approximately US$ 300 billion per year.
• A paradigm shift in the forest and land use sector requires decoupling the production of goods and services from unsustainable forest consumption and decoupling human needs from the consumption of products that impact forests.
• The GCF provides a list of indicative 'SAP-able' activities, including the use of blockchain for traceability and land titling, and the implementation of deforestation-free cocoa and coffee production via agroforestry systems.
• Certain activities are explicitly deemed non-SAP-able, including the planting of exotic tree species that negatively affect native biodiversity and forest management practices that generate discharges to water flows.

APA

Green Climate Fund (n.d.). SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS (SAP) TECHNICAL GUIDELINES. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/230221-sap-forests-and-land-use.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS (SAP) TECHNICAL GUIDELINES. n.d. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/230221-sap-forests-and-land-use.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS (SAP) TECHNICAL GUIDELINES |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/230221-sap-forests-and-land-use.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefundndsimplified, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{SIMPLIFIED APPROVAL PROCESS (SAP) TECHNICAL GUIDELINES}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/230221-sap-forests-and-land-use.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }