Fundación Avina proudly announces the selection of the first eight solutions to receive funding for implementing tropical forest management practices in the Global South through our BASE initiative.

Launched at COP27 in November 2022, BASE (Building Approaches to fund local Solutions with climate Evidence) aims to overcome one of the barriers that local communities face in accessing climate finance, notably the challenge of developing a solid climate rational for proposals. Demonstrating how a project can effectively reduce GHG emissions or bolster resilience is particularly challenging for local communities and organizations, yet it is crucial for securing certain climate funds.

BASE will implement a diverse range of grant schemes to fund locally led climate solutions while minimizing the cost and time required to gather or prepare the relevant information that substantiates a climate rationale. By doing so, BASE aims to unlock the potential of communities to drive impactful initiatives and promote effective climate action at the grassroots level. The grant schemes will serve as proof of concept of how a climate rationale can be simplified and will allow us to learn and generate evidence on the process and effectiveness of the solution, which we will share with public and private financing institutions and governments in order to support changes in climate finance practices focused on local communities.

For this inaugural call, Fundación Avina–in collaboration with BASE’s members designed an innovative approach that allowed more than 70 applicants, to articulate the climate rationale of their proposals flexibly. This process ensured the inclusion of diverse voices and accommodated creative expressions. Throughout the application process, BASE provided support to help applicants navigate the intricacies of climate finance and project development. The selection process was undertaken in collaboration with BASE’s partners, including Brainforest, Forest Trends, GFLAC, Hivos, Pawanka Fund, Reos Partners, Skoll Foundation, United Nations University- ViE, and its aligned initiatives, Adaptation Research Alliance, Voices for Climate Action, and Impulsouth.

For its first round of grants, BASE will fund eight initiatives led by local organizations, each receiving a one-year grant of $40,000. With the support of a dedicated researcher, these solutions will advance the transformation of their territories while generating evidence of how the proposed intervention contributes to climate mitigation and/or adaptation. As a result, they will refine the climate rationale, furthering our understanding of effective, community-led climate action.

Details of the 8 solutions can be found on the attached infographics.

Find out more about the process and initiatives in the brochure.