Outcomes-Based Financing in Peru’s National Protected Areas
Social Finance International, working with Acrux Partners, partnered with World Wide Fund for Nature and Peru's National Service of Natural Protected Areas to develop outcomes-based financing models to fund nature and tourism business development for local communities.
Peru ranks among the most biodiverse countries globally, with 78 National Protected Natural Areas (ANP in Spanish) covering nearly 18% of its territory and encompassing ecosystems from the Andean highlands to the Pacific coast. These areas possess significant ecological and cultural value, supporting unique biodiversity and underpinning local livelihoods and community identity. However, they face critical threats, including illegal extraction, soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change impacts such as irregular rainfall and glacial retreat, which continue to degrade these ecosystems. Communities residing in and around these areas frequently lack sustainable economic alternatives and often depend on extractive or environmentally harmful activities for their livelihoods. Funding for the conservation and sustainable management of these areas remains inadequate, impeding meaningful progress. This context underscores the necessity for innovative, results-oriented approaches that align incentives among public, private, and philanthropic stakeholders.
The Project: A Collaborative Approach to Outcomes-Based Finance for Nature Conservation
Social Finance International and Acrux Partners partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and SERNANP (Peru's National Service of Natural Protected Areas) to develop an Outcomes-Based Finance (OBF) mechanism to strengthen local livelihoods and conservation efforts in Peru's protected natural areas. This initiative aligns with the 30x30 global commitment, an international pledge to protect 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030, to which Peru is a signatory. In response to insufficient and fragmented financing for sustainable management, the initiative leverages OBF to mobilize increased private, public, and philanthropic capital, ensuring that resources are allocated based on verified social and environmental outcomes to maximize effectiveness and impact.
To address the heterogeneity of Peru's protected areas and economic activities across the Coast and Sierra regions, two high-level OBF prototypes were developed rather than a single standardized model. The first prototype targets the Emprendedores por Naturaleza (ExN) program, a SERNANP initiative launched in 2020 to promote civil society participation in conservation by co-financing nature-based enterprises that utilize natural resources and ecosystem services responsibly to generate economic and social benefits for local communities. Its outcome framework encompasses social, economic, and environmental indicators. The second prototype focuses on a sustainable tourism program for local operators and communities near the ANPs, recognizing the importance of equitable benefit distribution to ensure that tourism revenues reach local communities.
Key Elements of the Approach
To develop this initiative, Social Finance International and Acrux Partners worked alongside WWF and SERNANP across four interconnected workstreams.
Prioritization. A three-stage process was carried out to identify the most suitable sectors for an OBF mechanism, analyzing SERNANP's institutional priorities, private sector financing interest, and sectoral relevance across eight potential value chains and programs in the Coast and Sierra regions. This resulted in the selection of ExN and sustainable tourism as the two priority areas.
Design. For each priority sector, our team developed a theory of change that defines the causal pathways from activities to intermediate results and long-term impact and identifies potential outcome metrics. We also defined the potential target population, outcome metrics framework, contracting structure and financial incentives among the organizations involved in the implementation.
Proof of concept. To assess real-world feasibility, seven potential private-sector funders, including cooperation agencies, foundations, private companies, and social investment funds, were engaged through individual interviews. We facilitated a participatory workshop with six potential implementing organizations to assess their interest, motivations, and perceived risks. In parallel, a regulatory and tax analysis of Peru's legal frameworks was conducted, evaluating two contracting structures: one managed directly by SERNANP and one through an environmental fund that provides innovative alternatives for environmental protection and sustainable development called Fondo de Promoción de las Áreas Naturales Protegidas del Perú (PROFONANPE) as fund manager.
Next steps. A roadmap was developed, structured across five key components:
impact definition,
funder commitment,
governance consolidation,
detailed technical and financial design, and
implementation.
Each stage includes concrete steps, identifies the actors responsible for leading and supporting each activity, and specifies a timeline, providing SERNANP with a clear path toward structuring and launching its first OBF project.
The Role of Partners in Driving Impact
Social Finance International and Acrux Partners carried out this initiative in partnership with SERNANP, the national agency responsible for Peru's protected natural areas. This government agency led the initiative by setting strategic priorities, coordinating key stakeholders, and ensuring alignment with national conservation goals. WWF supported the project through Proyecto Meta 30x30, which aims to strengthen conservation in Peru's marine-coastal and Andean ecosystems. These partners work together to generate sustainable financial resources, optimize funding for protected area management, and mobilize private resources toward verified environmental and social outcomes.
Insights for Future Programs
Private sector engagement in Peru is most effective when outcomes are linked to social and economic results, rather than solely environmental objectives. Consultations with potential private sector funders indicate a preference for supporting initiatives that prioritize employment, entrepreneurship, and capacity building alongside conservation or biodiversity. Adopting a flexible approach in selecting protected areas and target populations also aligns the mechanism with funder priorities and enhances the likelihood of securing financing.
The diversity of protected areas requires a flexible outcomes framework rather than fixed payment metrics. Since each area has unique ecosystems, economic activities, and community dynamics, social and environmental outcomes do not apply equally across all areas. Rather than defining rigid, standardized payment metrics, the project developed an outcomes framework with different types of measurable results that can be adapted to each ANP’s specific conditions and funder priorities.
Looking Ahead: Scaling Impact and Future Collaborations
This initiative contributes to the broader discussion on outcomes-based financing for conservation and local development. The project highlights how different payment metrics could be explored across contexts to better understand what may work for nature-based enterprises and sustainable tourism in protected areas. Through stakeholder engagement and analysis of Peru’s regulatory and institutional frameworks for OBF, the project deepened the understanding of how results-driven approaches can support the government’s conservation goals while strengthening local economic development and attracting private and philanthropic capital toward verified outcomes.
The project lays the groundwork for demonstrating outcomes-based finance in nature-based enterprises and sustainable tourism within protected areas. This initiative marks an important first step toward implementing an OBF mechanism in Peru's ANP. If adopted by SERNANP and its partners, the proposed mechanism could serve as a proof of concept for how outcomes-based finance can strengthen local livelihoods, promote sustainable resource use, and contribute to Peru's 30x30 conservation commitments.
Interested in outcomes-based financing for conservation and local development? Connect with us:
📩 María Alejandra Urrea, Associate Director, Social Finance International – maria-alejandra.urrea@socialfinance.org.uk
📩 Cooper Renfro, Director, Social Finance International – cooper.renfro@socialfinance.org.uk
Partners
WWF | SERNANP | Acrux Partners
Location
Peru
