CAFI’s policies and strategies are summarised in its Manual of Operations.
Terms of Reference of the CAFI Fund
The CAFI Terms of Reference describe, among others, the expected outcomes of the Initiative and its underlying Theory of Change, how the fund governance arrangement provides a forum for joint partnership and cross-country learning, and the programming cycle for National Investment Frameworks (NIFs) aligned with countries’ overall development vision and objectives.
Their latest revision was adopted in August 2025.
Manual of Operations
The Manual of Operations (MoP) summarise relevant operational rules and guidelines of the trust fund. The MOP complements the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Trust Fund and is approved and modified by the Executive Board. Updates to the MOP may concern the core text or appear in one or more of its Annexes. In case of contradictions between the provisions of the ToR and the MOP, the text of the ToR prevails. Its latest revision was on 10 March 2023 by decision EB.2023.03.
- Annexes 1, 2 and 3 are in the body of the MoP.
- Annex 4: Link to UNDP`s Corporate Webpage
- Annex 5 : Quick Accreditation Guide for NUNOs – 2024
- Annex 6 : Template – CAFI SEAH assessment template for NUNOs
- Annex 7: Self-Assessment/Check-List for Social and Environmental Safeguards
- Annex 8: Quality Assurance Framework for Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES)
- Annex 9: Quality Assurance Plan – policy
- Annex 10: Project/programme document templates
- Annex 11: Reporting templates
- Annex 12: MEL Policy
- Annex 13: Co-financing policy
- Annex 14.1: Project Budgeting Policy
Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Policy
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (ME&L) Policy sets out the approach of CAFI to assessing how its investments deliver climate and development results and how its results contribute to the overall objectives of CAFI to significantly contribute to low emission development in partner countries through interventions in the land use and forestry sector.
Co-financing policy
The Policy on Co-financing (the Policy) sets out key principles and approaches to determine and monitor public and private co-financing applicable to all CAFI-funded activities.
The Policy provides guidance on determining, reporting and monitoring co-financing in CAFI-funded activities.
The Policy also contains provisions to support CAFI in accounting for and reporting on the mobilization of private finance to maximize the impact of CAFI interventions while assisting entities and countries in understanding.
Risk Management strategy
The purpose of CAFI’s Risk Management Strategy is to find the right balance between risks and delivery on the strategic objectives of the fund. The main objectives are to: accelerate delivery and increase fund impact; ensure that fund operations ‘do no harm’; verify that funds are used for their intended purpose and build risk management capacities.
Project budgeting policy
This Project Budgeting Policy aims to provide clear and standardized guidelines on project budgeting and reporting1. As such, it serves to guide (i) CAFI partners in their budgeting and reporting activities, as well as (ii) CAFI governance bodies in assessing the conformity and efficiency of the project proposals and financial reports received, and inform discussions and decision on the matter. It presents details on how to handle project budgets, from the eligible types of expenses to the administrative requirements to be met while implementing the CAFI funded projects.
Performance-based Programming Policy for AFOLU projects
The Performance-based Programming Policy for AFOLU projects Policy (the Policy) consolidates existing measures adopted by the Executive Board and introduces new performance enhancing measures that apply to all Agriculture, Forestry and land use (AFOLU) projects in the CAFI portfolio, with a specific set of measures that only applies to Payments for Environmental Services (payments and centralised information management system).
The Policy was adopted in June 2025 via Decision EB.2025.26.
Download it here : 2025 06 25 CAFI Policy on Performance Programming