Connecting Global Capital with Emerging Market Opportunity
In October 2025, Forestal Sylvis participated in Building Bridges in Geneva, a global platform that brings together decision-makers from finance, business, government, civil society, academia, and sustainable development. More than a conference, Building Bridges operates as a multi-stakeholder movement focused on accelerating the transition toward a sustainable financial system and actively shaping the global financial agenda.
At the center of this year’s discussions was a shared premise: sustainable finance must scale, and it must do so by mobilizing capital toward real assets that deliver measurable results. Within this context, forestry emerged as one of the most tangible and scalable pathways to align financial performance with environmental and social outcomes.
Forestry for Impact: the panel
Forestal Sylvis took part in the panel “Forestry for Impact: Connecting Global Capital with Emerging Market Opportunity,” alongside United Bankers and Helmi Group. The panel brought together perspectives from a Nordic institutional investor, an impact-focused investment advisor, and a forestry operator from Latin America.
Raúl Gauto, President and CEO of Forestal Sylvis, represented Paraguay and the wider Global South, sharing the operator’s view on why forestry has become a compelling asset class in emerging markets and what it takes to make such projects investable for international capital.
The session focused on a central question: how can global capital be effectively connected with emerging market opportunities in a way that is credible, scalable, and aligned with long-term sustainability goals?
Forestry as a resilient asset class
Forestry sits at the intersection of climate action, biodiversity protection, and economic development. Unlike abstract financial instruments, forests are physical assets with biological growth, predictable cycles, and multiple revenue streams. When well managed, they offer long-term stability, inflation protection, and diversification within real asset portfolios.
From Paraguay’s perspective, forestry presents a particularly strong case. Fast biological growth rates allow for shorter rotation cycles, with biomass and pulp harvested in as little as seven years and timber in approximately ten. This biological advantage translates into faster capital turnover compared to many temperate regions, while global demand for sustainably sourced wood continues to rise.
For investors, this means that impact does not replace returns. It comes on top of them.
From perception risk to real risk
A recurring theme throughout the panel was the distinction between perceived risk and actual risk in emerging markets. While governance concerns, data availability, and institutional maturity are often cited as barriers, these risks can be materially mitigated through structure, transparency, and local expertise.
Forestal Sylvis addressed this challenge by highlighting its institutional approach to forestry development. Projects are structured through regulated vehicles with full asset segregation, fiduciary oversight, and alignment with international standards. Partnerships with Helmi Group, pathways toward FSC certification, and rigorous impact measurement frameworks are designed to reduce uncertainty and build investor confidence.
In this sense, local operators play a critical role. As emphasized during the discussion, investing in the Global South requires strong local partners who understand land, regulation, communities, and biological risk on the ground. Without this local layer, even well-intentioned capital struggles to translate into durable outcomes.
Impact that is measurable and investable
Forestal Sylvis integrates impact directly into its operating model. Environmental stewardship, biodiversity management, and social development are not treated as external add-ons, but as core components of project design and financial planning. Social impact is monitored using the Poverty Stoplight methodology, which tracks more than fifty well-being indicators at the household level, allowing both communities and investors to follow progress over time.
By aligning impact metrics with the same rigor applied to financial reporting, forestry projects can find a clear place within institutional asset allocation, particularly within real assets and nature-based investment strategies.
Bridging mature and emerging markets
One of the closing reflections of the panel centered on partnership. Mature forestry markets in Northern Europe have demonstrated that forestry can operate as a mainstream institutional asset class with attractive long-term returns. The challenge now is extending that model to emerging markets where land availability, growth rates, and development needs are greater.
Paraguay represents one of these frontier opportunities. It combines underutilized land, favorable growing conditions, and rising regional demand, while offering the potential to relieve pressure on native forests through sustainable plantation development.
The role of platforms like Building Bridges is precisely to create these connections. By bringing together investors, operators, advisors, and policymakers, the event helps transform abstract commitments into concrete capital flows.
A bridge toward a regenerative financial system
Building Bridges is guided by a clear ambition: to help move from an economic system that has historically damaged the planet to one that sustains and regenerates it. Forestry, when managed responsibly, offers a practical example of how this transition can occur.
For Forestal Sylvis, participation in Building Bridges 2025 reaffirmed that sustainable forestry is no longer a niche conversation. It is increasingly recognized as a resilient asset class capable of delivering financial returns while generating measurable environmental and social value.
In emerging markets, the opportunity is not about pioneering in the dark. It is about applying proven investment principles, supported by strong local partnerships, to unlock growth that is inclusive, scalable, and aligned with global sustainability goals.
