Tackling Deforestation Through A Jurisdictional Approach: Lessons From The Field

The report examines jurisdictional approaches to deforestation, emphasizing the necessity of political leadership, participatory design, and diverse financing. Through case studies in Brazil, Liberia, Ghana, and Colombia, it argues that while these models are nascent and complex, they offer a systemic way to align market forces and government policy to achieve landscape-scale conservation.

• Political leadership is essential for initiating jurisdictional approaches and providing legitimacy, but it creates a risk of instability if the initiative depends on a specific administration. To mitigate this, the report suggests building policy resilience through international public commitments, increasing government accountability, and establishing governance structures via authoritative legal instruments rather than executive decrees.
• Long-term success depends on inclusive stakeholder engagement during both the design and implementation phases. The report notes that a push for rapid results often leads to the exclusion of small-scale producers, who are frequently the actors with the most significant impact on the ecosystems being protected.
• Jurisdictional initiatives require a staged financing strategy that differentiates between start-up funds, continuous capital for activities, monetary rewards for conservation results, and investment for scaling. Public finance is suited for up-front costs and low-return activities, while private finance is better for scaling proven models and funding agricultural inputs.
• Private sector actors are critical because they drive the majority of economic activity and possess technical expertise that governments lack. However, proponents must distinguish between different types of private actors—those rooted in the jurisdiction, those who source from it, and those who invest in it—as their motivations and roles differ significantly.
• Tailored storytelling is necessary to maintain momentum and build support across diverse audiences. This includes communicating clear end goals, highlighting early wins to attract donors, and differentiating products (e.g., using labels like "Acre, made in Amazonia") to command premiums in international markets.
• Expectation management is required to prevent stakeholders from abandoning initiatives due to the slow pace of systemic change or short-term reversals in deforestation rates. Proponents must be transparent about the scope of the initiative, specifically which commodities are being targeted, to avoid being judged by deforestation caused by other drivers.
• Agricultural intensification—increasing yields on existing land—is a common strategy to reduce the need for forest conversion, but it must be paired with strictly enforced land use plans. Without such planning, increased efficiency may actually incentivize further conversion to maximize profits when commodity demand is high.

APA

Fishman, A., Oliveira, E., & Gamble, L. (2017). Tackling Deforestation Through A Jurisdictional Approach: Lessons From The Field. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/217/7kzew5kv7i_wwf_jurisdictional_approaches_fullpaper_web_1.pdf

Chicago

Fishman, Akiva, Edegar Oliveira, and Lloyd Gamble. Tackling Deforestation Through A Jurisdictional Approach: Lessons From The Field. WWF International, 2017. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/217/7kzew5kv7i_wwf_jurisdictional_approaches_fullpaper_web_1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fishman |first1=Akiva |last2=Oliveira |first2=Edegar |last3=Gamble |first3=Lloyd |title=Tackling Deforestation Through A Jurisdictional Approach: Lessons From The Field |publisher=WWF International |date=September 2017 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/217/7kzew5kv7i_wwf_jurisdictional_approaches_fullpaper_web_1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fishman2017tackling, author = {Fishman, Akiva and Oliveira, Edegar and Gamble, Lloyd}, title = {{Tackling Deforestation Through A Jurisdictional Approach: Lessons From The Field}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/217/7kzew5kv7i_wwf_jurisdictional_approaches_fullpaper_web_1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }