At its creation in 2008, the United Nations REDD (‘reducing emissions from degradation and deforestation’) programme was hailed as a way to finance conservation with tools such as carbon offsets. Thirteen years on, little of that promise has been realized. A REDD transaction signed in March for the Cordillera Azul National Park, in the foothills of the Andes in Peru, offers hope.

The deal will support the conservation in perpetuity of the 13,500-square-kilometre park and its rich and pristine biodiversity. A trust fund to cover all expenses is being set up by the non-governmental organization CIMA Cordillera Azul, which manages the park, and the Peruvian Service for Natural Protected Areas.

Investments in sustainable livelihoods will strengthen efforts to curb and reverse deforestation in the 23,000‑km² buffer zone around the park — home to more than 300,000 people. Notably, they will boost development of sustainable products from forest restoration and agroforestry. For example, CIMA has built a cacao-processing plant to promote cacao agroforestry as an alternative to land use that relies on deforestation.

To our knowledge, this is the first REDD transaction to ensure that all conservation costs for a national park of this size are financed by private-sector carbon-credit sales, with minimal transaction costs. Similar deals around the globe could help to catalyse the carbon market.