Finance
Protecting Bolivia’s forest watersheds with sustainable finance
Why financing matters for forest restoration
Over the past several years, Armonía and local communities have made significant progress restoring parts of the Tunari protected area. To date they have planted 1.25 million trees, with more than half of these planted in the Tiquipaya municipality. Community wildfire brigades have been strengthened, reservoirs built to secure water, and new systems created for communities to participate in watershed management.
One of the most important actions was strengthening the structure and function of a watershed governance body, known as Organismo de Gestión de Cuencas (OGC). This coordinates restoration activities and helps design sustainable development strategies for the communities living in the park, helping rebuild trust between them, park authorities and conservation organisations. Women leaders have played an important role in shaping this work.
However, a major challenge was highlighted – restoration takes decades, but most conservation funding arrives through short-term projects. Without stable long-term financing, restoration gains are difficult to maintain.
How the financing model would work
The proposed PES mechanism would collect small contributions directed into a transparent trust fund with independent governance. Resources would then be invested in three main areas:
- Forest restoration and protection – Communities would receive incentives for protecting existing forest and payments tied to successful restoration outcomes.
- Community sustainable development – Investments would support livelihood activities that reduce pressure on the forest, such as sustainable agriculture, water management and local enterprises.
- Strengthening park management – Funds would help support ranger capacity, wildfire prevention and long-term monitoring within Tunari National Park.
For communities, the system recognises their role as custodians of the watershed. For urban residents, it offers a practical way to support the ecosystems that provide their water. For public and private partners, it creates a transparent structure for long-term investment in landscape restoration.
Once fully implemented, the mechanism could generate an estimated £3 million per year for watershed protection and restoration.
Designing a Payment for Ecosystem Services mechanism
Over the past two years, Armonía has worked with municipalities, communities and regional institutions to explore how a PES mechanism could work in the Cochabamba region.
The PES concept is straightforward. Communities living in the upper watershed protect and restore forests that provide essential services such as water regulation, erosion control and biodiversity conservation. Downstream users who benefit from these services contribute financially to support that stewardship.
Through the Accelerator process, Armonía undertook studies, assessments and consultations across the Cochabamba metropolitan area’s seven municipalities. Many residents recognised that protecting the forest is directly linked to their water security. Based on these encouraging results, Armonía and their partners are developing a regional trust fund.
Building the institutions behind the mechanism
The financing system is only one piece of the puzzle – strong governance and community participation are also essential. With FIA support, Armonía is now helping communities develop ten-year sustainable development strategies that identify restoration priorities and income opportunities. A multi-stakeholder platform will oversee the initiative and guide decisions, while the park administration is also receiving support to strengthen monitoring, prevent wildfires and improve co-ordination.
A new model for watershed protection
The work underway in Tunari is about more than planting trees. It’s about building a durable system that links ecological restoration, community leadership and long-term financing. Once the mechanism is operational, it could transform how the Tunari watershed is managed. Instead of relying on intermittent projects, the region would have a locally supported financing system that rewards stewardship and protects the Kewiña forests that has supported life in the Andes for centuries.
Implementing the “Future of Finance Academy”
KPMG in the UK worked with CCEP to co-create a comprehensive learning program for senior managers and associate directors in its finance function. We began by developing a strong understanding of the unique business context in which the company and its finance team operate.
This also helped us determine the best mode of delivery for its globally distributed finance function and identify opportunities to stretch CCEP’s ambitions further.
For example, the KPMG team proposed turning the final module of the course into a showcase presentation. Trainees applied what they had learned to real business challenges and presented their solutions to the board in a business pitch-style competition. Although this added to finance leaders’ already demanding workload, it proved to be one of the course’s most successful elements, enabling participants to put their new skills into practice.
Before work on the Academy began, KPMG developed a detailed plan setting out how the two teams would work together, ensure consistency across the learning modules, maintain quality assurance, and manage changes to scope.
KPMG professionals then collaborated closely with CCEP to co-create bespoke learning content, with CCEP’s senior finance leaders acting as subject matter experts alongside our own finance specialists.
Senior officials from the European Union and Hong Kong are in talks to launch a financial services dialogue, with companies from the bloc keen to explore opportunities in the Northern Metropolis, its top representative in the city has said.
Ambassador Harvey Rouse, head of the EU Office in Hong Kong, made the remarks at the Greenway 2026 forum on Tuesday, where he highlighted opportunities for cooperation on sustainable innovation and the green transition.
In a keynote address, Rouse said Hong Kong had established itself as one of Asia’s leading centres for green and sustainable finance, and that, as “two of the world’s leaders” in this field, both sides had an opportunity to deepen cooperation.
“Indeed, this cooperation is already under way,” he said.
“Senior exchanges between Hong Kong and the European Commission have intensified over the past year with visits of EU officials to Hong Kong and vice versa. Both sides are looking at starting soon a financial services dialogue to enhance cooperation.”
Rouse said European firms could also provide investment and expertise to support Hong Kong’s green transition.
“This is particularly relevant as Hong Kong develops the Northern Metropolis,” he said, referring to the city’s 30,000-hectare (74,131-acre) megaproject near the border with mainland China.
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