Former GEF CEO Carlos Manuel Rodríguez to Chair new forest finance facility launched by Everland
HALO Facility launched to address one of the most significant barriers facing community-led forest conservation projects: access to early-stage and continuity capital
New York, 5 June 2026 – On World Environment Day, conservation organization Everland announced the launch of the HALO (Holistic Alignment for Lasting Outcomes) Facility: a new financing initiative designed to provide community-led forest conservation projects with the early-stage and continuity capital needed to establish strong foundations and advance toward investment readiness.
Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, former CEO and Chair of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and former Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, will serve as HALO’s inaugural Chair. A recognized global authority on conservation finance, Rodríguez will oversee the Facility’s fundraising, governance, and strategic development.
HALO emerged from the Indigenous Amazon Outcome Bond initiative, which aims to mobilize institutional capital for community-led forest conservation projects under Equitable Earth: a next-generation carbon standard designed specifically to meet the priorities of Indigenous and traditional forest communities, and the integrity requirements of carbon credit buyers.
23 projects representing almost 90,000 community members across 17 million hectares of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru have stepped forward to participate. But many months of engagement with communities and investors revealed a consistent challenge: while institutional capital is increasingly interested in projects like these, many projects need money to complete fundamental development activities before they become ready for institutional investment.
HALO was created to address this gap.
As HALO raises capital, it will provide catalytic and bridge financing to high-potential projects, so they have the resources to establish the foundations upon which durable conservation depends. It is these foundations that mitigate risk and can unlock access to larger financing for projects and long-term revenue for communities.
“Durable conservation is most likely to be achieved when communities are at the center,” said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez,“ and REDD+ projects have proven to be one of the most effective ways to channel private finance to forest communities and biodiversity protection. Yet too often, promising projects fail because they lack access to the right capital at the right time. HALO was created to overcome this challenge, and I’m proud to serve as its Chair. Our aim is to help create the conditions for communities to build sovereign wealth while safeguarding millions of hectares of threatened rainforest.”
HALO is currently seeking philanthropic, public-sector, and private-sector partners to support its initial capitalization and help bring high-potential Indigenous-and-traditional-
Puyr Tembé, community leader from the Tembé people and former Indigenous Secretary of the State of Pará, added: “Across the Amazon, Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities remain on the frontlines of forest protection, confronting daily invasions, deforestation, illegal mining, and other pressures that threaten our lives, our territories, and our ways of being. We are not merely witnesses to the climate crisis, we are part of the solutions the world is searching for. The challenge is not a lack of knowledge, wisdom, or capacity within our territories. The challenge is that those who profit from the destruction of the forest continue to have greater access to financial resources than those who dedicate their lives to protecting it. That is why we advocate for direct funding to Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities, without barriers that prevent resources from reaching those who are safeguarding the forest on the ground. When Indigenous territories are strengthened, the forest remains standing, biodiversity is protected, and climate stability benefits not only the Amazon, but all of humanity. Reforesting minds and investing in Indigenous Peoples means investing in real solutions for the future of our planet.”