Côte d’Ivoire - Public-Private Partnership in Action
Building a stronger economy through healthy forests, climate resilience, and sustainable cocoa production
Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest cocoa grower and home of one of West Africa’s largest and most important remaining tropical forests. The country faces a critical challenge: growing economic opportunities while protecting the forests that regulate rainfall, support agriculture, and help tackle climate change.
Through a coordinated national program – backed by cocoa buyers, government and thousands of farmers – Côte d’Ivoire is advancing sustainable cocoa production, investing in communities and reducing forest loss.
At COP30, Côte d’Ivoire’s government signed a landmark agreement with Emergent to commercialize emission reductions and removals credits generated by these programs. The agreement could unlock more than US$20 million in finance, with much of the funding going directly to cocoa farmers to plant shade trees, which restore the forest and improve yields.
Global companies and philanthropies, including Amazon and Walmart Foundation, are already taking action. Your company can join too:
Companies Taking Action
Walmart Foundation is participating in the Côte d’Ivoire transaction to help advance its nature conservation and supply chain goals. It sees jurisdictional REDD+ and high-integrity forest credits as important tools to scale sustainable supply chain programs while supporting communities and protecting nature in its sourcing regions.
Simon Hall, Director, Strategic Initiatives (Forests & Nature) explains why Walmart Foundation is supporting Côte d’Ivoire.
Amazon uses high-integrity carbon credits to address ongoing emissions, complementing its internal efforts to cut carbon emissions and reach net-zero by 2040. Through its Sustainability Exchange, Amazon is making these credits available to business partners.
Jamey Mulligan, Head of Carbon Neutralization Science & Strategy, explains why Amazon is procuring Côte d’Ivoire credits and what Amazon looks for when evaluating programs.
Public Private Partnership in Action
Several other companies are also purchasing high integrity credits from Côte d’Ivoire, with funding already heading to local communities. Together, these partnerships demonstrate how public and private sector collaboration can mobilize finance to protect forests, strengthen livelihoods, and deliver tangible benefits for people, climate and nature.
The Impact of Large-Scale Forest Protection Programs
Large-scale, government-led forest protection programs, known as Jurisdictional REDD+, reward countries and subnational jurisdictions for verified reductions in deforestation and forest degradation, as well as emissions removals through restoration. They are among the few mechanisms capable of shifting economic incentives towards forest conservation at the scale and speed required to address the global climate and biodiversity crisis. By harnessing the power of government, these programs drive meaningful action through stronger policies, law enforcement, and economic incentives that help stop forest loss. Their success also depends on the full participation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, supported by transparent benefit-sharing systems that ensure a fair share of revenues reaches those on the frontlines of forest protection — creating sustainable livelihoods and long-term economic opportunity. Originally funded by donor governments and initiatives such as the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), these programs are now generating high-integrity carbon credits through robust Standards such as ART TREES, which enable ambitious corporate leaders to advance their climate and nature strategies.
Spotlight on Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire is home to part of the Upper Guinean Forest, one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots, sheltering endangered species such as the Pygmy Hippopotamus and Jentink’s Duiker. Its forests also support the cultural heritage and livelihoods of more than sixty ethnic groups with deep traditional connections to the land.
Yet decades of agricultural expansion, unsustainable logging, artisanal mining, and limited forest management reduced forest cover by 80%, leaving just 9% of the country forested. This loss threatens biodiversity, weakens climate resilience, and puts pressure on the more than five million smallholder cocoa and rubber farmers who depend on healthy forest landscapes.
Côte d’Ivoire’s forest protection and restoration program is helping reverse this trend—advancing zero-deforestation agriculture, sustainable forest management, and conservation, while delivering direct benefits to people and communities.
Through an inclusive benefit-sharing system developed with national and local stakeholders, over 50% of program proceeds flow directly to local communities, regional councils, and traditional chiefdoms, ensuring those protecting forests are rewarded.
The impact is already clear: over 22,000 farmers have received payments, restoring 90,000 hectares of forest across 400+ communities, while improving crop yields and supporting higher incomes. Government funding is also helping communities—particularly migrant farmers—secure official identification documents, unlocking access to social security, healthcare, and education for the first time with funding coming from the World Bank’s FCPF Program.
Watch more
.png)
Meet Us in London
.png)
Emergent, together with Solutions House and partners, will host a series of events during London Climate Action Week featuring community voices from Côte d’Ivoire, sharing firsthand how forest protection programs are improving livelihoods and bringing economic opportunities.
Find out more and request an invite below:
Resources
