The TerraFund Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Framework

This article provides an introduction to the framework used across all TerraFund projects for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV). 

TerraFund MRV Overview

Indicator Overview

TerraFund MRV Overview

TerraFund is pioneering a new approach to support locally led restoration projects and set a new global standard for restoration implementation. To understand and learn from what is happening on the ground, WRI and our partners have designed practical methods that provide reliable, repeatable and robust data to monitor projects throughout their entire lifecycle.

The data supporting TerraFund MRV comes from a few different sources: project reports, polygon collection, remote sensing methods, field monitoring methods, and application data. Funded projects are required to regularly submit project reports every six months on TerraMatch. That data will then be verified with independent sources , such as through remote-sensing and field monitoring methods, to cross-check and confirm the accuracy and completeness of reported progress.

You can find TerraFund's MRV Guidebook (published in February 2026), with full details on the program's approach to MRV, here. 

Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification

Monitoring: The process of collecting and analyzing data and information to measure progress toward specific goals that the restoration effort aims to achieve.

Reporting: The sharing of data collected by restoration champions through project, nursery, and site reports, which are submitted on the TerraMatch platform in a standardized format every six months.

Verification: Periodically subjecting reported information to some form of review, analysis or independent assessment to establish completeness and reliability.

You can find definitions for commonly-used MRV terms here: Glossary: TerraFund Monitoring, Reporting, & Verification

Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) is conducted via TerraMatch, which we use:

1. For restoration champions to submit three types of reports (site, nursery, and project)
2. For WRI to share summary results of progress back to restoration champions and funders.

 

Indicator Overview

This section describes TerraFund indicators and the functions they serve for understanding the progress of individual projects and the overarching portfolio. Funded projects will be expected to report every six months on these indicators. 

Type	Indicator category	Indicators included
Project implementation	1. Tree restoration	1.1 Seedlings produced 1.2 Trees planted 1.3 Survival rate 1.4 Trees grown*
	2. Land restoration	2.1 Hectares under restoration 2.2 Percentage tree cover change*
	3. Jobs created	3.1 Full-time employees 3.2 Part-time employees 3.3 Volunteers
	4. Livelihood benefits	4.1 Individuals in communities supported or receiving direct benefits 4.2 Individuals in communities supported or receiving indirect benefits 4.3 Trainees 4.4 Income-generating activities
	5. Financial health and performance	5.1 Net profit margin 5.1.1 Change in revenue  5.2 Current ratio 5.3 Enterprise repayment  5.4 Finance repayment  5.5 Budget execution rate 5.6 Change in operating budget 5.7 External finance
	6. Community engagement	6.1 Addressing barriers 6.2 Local input
	7. Carbon sequestration	7.1 Carbon sequestered after 6 years*
Program administration	8. Inclusive finance	8.1 Women-led projects 8.2 Women-led finance 8.3 Youth-led projects 8.4 Youth-led finance 8.5 Local projects 8.6 Local finance  8.7 Locally led projects 8.8 Locally led finance
	9. Market access	9.1 Percentage of projects accessing market-based finance  9.2 Percentage of total finance allocated as debt or equity

Project Implementation Indicators

1. Tree restoration

1.1 Number of seedlings or saplings produced: The total number of seedlings grown in nurseries for planting across sites and projects. The indicator tracks intermediary progress toward indicator 1.2, “Number of trees planted.” Data on seedlings and saplings are disaggregated by species, providing insight on contributions to biodiversity and native tree count. 

1.2 Number of trees planted: The total number of trees planted over the duration of a project. These data are self-reported, and, like data on seedlings and saplings, disaggregated by species type. This indicator is one of the earliest signifiers of project progress and provides a baseline metric used in assessments of survival rates, species diversity and composition, and progress toward contract goals. To confirm planting that has occurred, this indicator is subject to early verification via remote sensing, one to two years following planting. Trees grown through direct seeding and enrichment planting are included here. For projects using exclusively ANR, this indicator is not considered.

1.3 Survival rate of planted trees: An assessment of the continued existence and growth of planted trees, evaluated by project developers once a year in the three months preceding a site report. Because they submit site reports twice a year, projects choose in which reporting cycle it is most appropriate to report survival rate. Trees replaced within the reporting cycle when planting also occurred do not count against survival rate. Survival assessments are required once a year; however, project developers are encouraged to calculate survival rate twice in the first year of planting. Estimating survival rate early and often in the project life cycle can help project developers and the TerraFund team determine if the project is on track to meet expected restoration targets and decide if an intervention is necessary to achieve the desired size, density, and quality of planted seedlings. ANR-only projects are not required to conduct a survival rate assessment. See Appendix D for more information on survival rate calculation and guidance on replacement and replanting. 

1.4 Number of trees grown by project conclusion: The total number of trees planted that survive six years after the project’s start, adjusted by their survival rate and verified using TerraFund’s remote sensing-based and artificial intelligence tree count model. Long-term tree establishment is one of the main goals of tree-based restoration. By focusing on sustained growth, not just planting, this indicator provides insight into the durability of tree-planting efforts. This metric does not include trees naturally regenerated through ANR. 

2. Land restoration

2.1 Total number of hectares under restoration: The total hectarage of polygons submitted by projects with active restoration practices. Hectares under restoration provides information on the project’s target area and the number of hectares being restored across the portfolio. This indicator is relevant for both ANR and tree-planting projects and is the primary indicator for ANR interventions.vi

2.2 Percentage tree cover change: The change in tree cover over six years, providing another lens for understanding contributions to land restoration over the lifetime of the project. Measured using the Tropical Tree Cover dataset, this indicator provides an independent metric of restoration progress (Brandt et al. 2023). Tree cover change is measured completely using remote sensing at a spatial resolution of 10 m. It does not currently apply to projects using exclusively ANR.

3. Jobs created

3.1 Number of full-time employees of TerraFund projects: The number of people working 35 or more hours per week on TerraFund projects with a consistent role that involves daily or almost daily engagement for at least three out of the six months of the reporting period. This indicator provides insight into the project’s contribution to socioeconomic outcomes in the local area. 

3.2 Number of part-time employees of TerraFund projects: The number of people working part-time on TerraFund projects, broken down into two categories: part-time employees, those working less than 35 hours per week on projects, and short-term, seasonal, or casual employees. This is an inclusive definition of the various types of part-time employment, an important contribution to restoration projects, and critical to understanding socioeconomic contributions. Part-time employees work less than 35 hours on the project per week with a consistent role that involves frequent engagement for at least three months of the last six-month reporting period. Short-term, seasonal, and casual employees are people working periodically on the project, typically involved in tasks that take a few days, or during high-engagement seasons such as planting seasons. These include jobs that involve recurring engagement at the same time in different months but for a short duration ranging from a few days to a few weeks (e.g., people engaged to plant for three days).

3.3 Number of volunteers contributing to the project: The number of unpaid volunteers assisting with TerraFund projects, used to assess the contributions of unpaid labor in restoration work. Volunteer arrangements may be one form of community engagement for some projects. Project developers provide qualitative data on the nature of volunteer work, which provides additional insight into the labor and community engagement supporting a project. 

4. Livelihood benefits

4.1 Number of local community members directly supported or receiving benefits from restoration: The estimated number of local community members who are direct recipients of tangible benefits from TerraFund projects, such as seedlings, access to savings and loan services, or support for income-generating activities such as beekeeping. While quantitative data related to this indicator are challenging to verify, project developers also provide qualitative data on the types of benefits, providing a more holistic view of restoration projects beyond tree growth. 

4.2 Number of local community members indirectly receiving benefits from restoration: The estimated number of people indirectly receiving benefits from the project. A benefit received indirectly refers to the downstream value realized as a peripheral result of a project, such as improved water or soil quality, or the knock-on benefits provided to community members who did not directly receive a benefit. This indicator provides an opportunity for project developers to capture the full range of benefits they believe their projects are contributing. 

 4.3 Number of people who received training from the project: The number of people who received training, including other capacity-strengthening or skill-building opportunities, on topics related to restoration or other livelihood sources. Providing training is one way many restoration projects aim to contribute to improved livelihoods for community members. 

4.4 Number of projects supporting income-generating activities: The number of projects in the portfolio that support activities such as apiculture, nursery establishment, or livestock-keeping to supplement the income of farmers and community members. This indicator provides data on how many projects are contributing to community livelihoods, while project developers also provide supplementary qualitative information on how projects are supporting income-generating activities.

5. Financial health and performance

The financial reporting process for nonprofits and for-profits varies slightly, with the indicators reflecting these differences. Nonprofits follow industry standards and report on budget expenditure to understand how much has been spent in relation to project progress. For enterprises, for whom it is difficult and not an industry-wide practice to assess each investment’s impact as a separate “project,” TerraFund takes a holistic view of an enterprise’s finances to understand its performance. For-profits report on standard, organization-level financials to track business growth, solvency, and debt repayments. 

Enterprise-specific 

5.1 Net profit margin: The percentage of revenue that remains as profit after all operating expenses, interest, taxes, and other costs have been deducted. 

5.1.1 Gross and percentage change in revenue: The gross and percentage change in annual revenue (in US dollars) of the enterprise over the tenor of the investment. Change in revenue is used to calculate project margin and is therefore a constituent part of the net profit indicator but also an important standalone subindicator of business-level health. 

5.2 Current ratio: The liquidity of an enterprise, calculated by comparing current assets to current liabilities. 

5.3 Percentage of enterprises repaying loans on time: The percentage of enterprises that have paid the amount due on their loan balance each week. 

5.4 Percentage of finance repaid by borrowers: The amount of total capital of each loan repaid in US dollars to date. 

Nonprofit-specific 

5.5 Budget execution rate: The annual percentage of the budget spent out of the total approved amount. An example nonprofit expense report is included as Appendix G. The reports are designed to help organizations understand the percentage of funds they can allocate to project activities, income-generating initiatives, and other nontree-based interventions that support restoration permanence. Both enterprises and nonprofits may use up to 30 percent of the total budget for complementary, non tree-planting activities as part of the overall restoration effort. For portfolio managers, tracking budget spend-down allows early detection of under- or overspending, particularly in relation to project progress. A low execution rate may indicate delays in project implementation, while a very high rate early in the project may raise concerns about burn rate or financial planning. 

5.6 Change in organization operating budget: The percentage change in the total annual operating budget of a nonprofit organization over the course of its TerraFund project.

All organizations 

5.7 Level of external finance catalyzed for projects: The number and US dollar amount of additional or “follow on” grant, loan, or equity investments that organizations have accessed since receiving TerraFund funding. This indicator assesses TerraFund’s progress toward its goal of unlocking additional finance for funded organizations but is not considered in the total amount invested by TerraFund. 

6. Community engagement

6.1 Percentage of projects demonstrating efforts to address barriers to equity for women and youth: The proportion of projects that demonstrate they are addressing financial, economic, and social barriers, or inequitable land and resource rights that women and youth face that limit their participation in decision-making regarding restoration benefits. TerraFund defines youth in line with the African Union’s (2006) definition as individuals between 18 and 35 years of age. This may include activities such as providing access to credit or savings groups or conducting educational trainings. More information on this indicator and eligible project activities is included in Annex F. 

6.2 Percentage of projects seeking local community input in project decisions: The proportion of projects actively involving local communities and their priorities in project decision-making, planning, and implementation, demonstrated through projects’ descriptions of the specific mechanisms used to gather local community input in project decisions, the decisions this input informs, and the frequency at which they seek this input. This is an indicator of how localized projects’ approaches are. 

7. Carbon sequestration

Metric tons of carbon sequestered after six years: An evaluation of change in the tons of carbon stored in restoration areas between baseline and six years after project implementation. The indicator is measured with high-resolution imagery (30 cm) via an allometric relationship between diameter at breast height (DBH) and crown projected area (CPA). This information is collected either through a remote sensing mapping approach or a field inventory approach. A machine learning model is trained using high-resolution imagery and run across the landscape at no less than 1 m resolution to map tree crowns and then uses the CPA-to-DBH allometry developed by Mbow et al. (2014), Kachamba et al. (2016), and Kuyah et al. (2012) to assign carbon stocks. Appendix H explains TerraFund’s approach to monitoring carbon benefits in detail. 

Program administration indicators

8. Inclusive finance

8.1 Percentage of projects allocated to women-led organizations: The proportion of projects managed by women-led organizations over the total number of active TerraFund projects. ”Women-led” is defined as over 50 percent women in leadership positions, understood as ownership for enterprises or decision-making authority in nonprofits. This portfolio-level indicator tracks WRI and partners’ progress distributing finance to women-led organizations. 

8.2 Percentage of finance allocated to women-led organizations: The percentage of TerraFund financing allocated to organizations with over 50 percent women leadership. This indicator is used to monitor whether women-led organizations are receiving equitable levels of financing per organization. 

8.3 Percentage of projects allocated to youth-led organizations: The proportion of projects managed by youth-led organizations over the total number of active TerraFund projects. ”Youth-led” is defined as over 50 percent youth in leadership, represented either as ownership for enterprises or decision-making authority in nonprofits. This portfolio-level indicator tracks WRI and partners’ progress distributing finance to youth-led organizations. As stated above, TerraFund defines youth as those between 18 and 35 years of age (African Union 2006).

8.4 Percentage of finance allocated to youth-led organizations: The percentage of TerraFund finance allocated to organizations with over 50 percent youth leadership. This indicator is used to monitor whether youth-led organizations are receiving equitable levels of financing per organization. 

8.5 Percentage of projects allocated to local organizations: The proportion of projects managed by local organizations over the total number of active TerraFund projects. This indicator helps TerraFund differentiate between local organizations that have local management and represent local interests and international organizations that have a locally registered branch. Appendix F provides more details on TerraFund’s definition of “local.” 

8.6 Percentage of finance allocated to local organizations: The percentage of TerraFund finance allocated to local organizations. 

8.7 Percentage of organizations aligned with a locally led approach: The percentage of projects that demonstrate efforts to take an increasingly localized approach. 

8.8 Percentage of finance allocated to organizations aligned with a locally led approach: The percentage of TerraFund finance allocated to organizations who demonstrate efforts to take an increasingly localized approach.