In January 2026, Fair Finance Asia (FFA) launched the Investing and Financing Outcomes in Regional Ecosystems and Sustainable Trade (I-FOREST) project—a new regional initiative designed to contribute to the reduction of deforestation linked to Asian financing, trade, and consumption of forest-risk commodities. The project will run until March 2031. 

Supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through its Forest Governance, Markets and Climate Programme Phase 2 (FGMC2), I-FOREST addresses a critical driver of forest loss: the overseas deforestation footprint of Asian economies as major importers, processors, and financiers of commodities sourced from tropical forest countries, including Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states. 

Why I-FOREST matters 

Financial flows from Asia continue to support companies operating in sectors linked to deforestation, often without adequate environmental and social safeguards. These investments not only accelerate forest loss but also deepen inequalities, disproportionately affecting women, Indigenous Peoples, and vulnerable communities. 

I-FOREST works at the intersection of finance, trade, and regulation to shift incentives across the region and globally toward sustainable, gender-responsive, and socially responsible forest governance. 

Through this initiative, FFA and its partners are engaging commercial banks, international financial institutions (IFIs), multilateral development banks (MDBs), financial regulators, trade policymakers, and allied civil society stakeholders to strengthen policies, due diligence systems, and regulatory frameworks that reduce deforestation risks embedded in regional and global supply chains. 

A strategic opportunity for regional transformation 

Asia is not only a consumer of forest-risk commodities, but also financially consequential in shaping how these commodities are produced and traded. By influencing financial sector policies and regulatory frameworks, I-FOREST aims to unlock system-level change across value chains to contribute to combatting deforestation. The project aims to work with financial institutions in aligning their lending and investment policies and practices with sustainability expectations focused on forest governance, responsible trade policies, and gender-responsive socio-environmental safeguards. 

What I-FOREST will deliver 

Over the project period, FFA and its partners will: 

• Strengthen the evidence base on financial flows linked to cross-border deforestation and its negative impacts on women, girls, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalized groups. 

• Support financial institutions to adopt sustainable and gender-responsive policies and practices. 

• Engage financial sector and trade regulators to advance sustainable, gender-responsive and inclusive regulations. 

• Build technical capacity among key stakeholders across Asia to promote and adopt sustainability, gender-responsive, and inclusive policies and practices;  

• Increase public and stakeholder awareness of the social and environmental impacts of deforestation-linked finance and amplify the voices of affected communities, women, girls, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalized groups. 

Together, these outcomes aim to accelerate the transition toward financial systems that protect forests while promoting equitable and sustainable development. 

Partner with us 

FFA welcomes collaboration with partners working to advance sustainable finance and forest governance across Asia and globally. 

To explore partnership opportunities under I-FOREST: 

• Learn more about the Fair Finance Asia network here. 

• Learn more about FCDO’s FGMC2 Programme here.