By Pilar Pedrinelli, REP Fund Manager
The Refugee Environmental Protection (REP) Fund was established to place displaced communities at the centre of nature restoration and sustainable resource management. By connecting reforestation and clean cooking projects to global carbon markets, the Fund offers a new high-integrity model for financing environmental sustainability in humanitarian settings – one that reduces deforestation, improves energy access, and creates green livelihood opportunities.
Following feasibility studies across 11 sites, we selected 3 locations offering the strongest potential to scale while generating the first large-scale refugee-driven carbon credits: Kyangwali and Bidibidi Settlements in Uganda, and Kigeme Camp in Rwanda.
We are now advancing our procurement process to find the right partner(s) for the implementation of the first pilots. To support this phase and uphold the highest technical and environmental standards, the Fund has established an External Advisory Team – a group of professionals with deep expertise in carbon finance, ecosystem restoration, environmental and social risk management, and programme implementation in displacement settings.
The Advisory Team will provide independent, non-voting, technical input to the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) and internal advisory functions throughout the procurement process. Their insights will help ensure that selected projects are technically robust, environmentally sound, and rooted in the priorities of displaced and host communities.
The REP Fund is pleased to welcome the following members of the External Advisory Team:
We extend sincere appreciation to these advisors for their dedication and collaboration. Their insights will play a vital role in shaping a high-integrity, community-led portfolio of pilot projects that demonstrate the transformative potential of carbon finance in displacement settings.