From early traceability pilots to the platform developed today
Leapfrog was initially conceived as a payments and monitoring platform linking payments to specific activities or results. Early development explored blockchain, stablecoins and smart contracts as possible ways to make conditional payments more direct, transparent and accessible.
The original concept also considered multiple approvals, payment suspension where concerns arose, and grievance and whistleblowing mechanisms. These were proposed approaches and development objectives, rather than a validated payment service.
The original theory of change was that linking payments to verified activities, while improving transparency and accountability, could strengthen incentives for forest protection and restoration and support better forest governance.
Field consultations and technical and regulatory reviews have since refined the immediate development priorities. Current work focuses on recording activities and deliveries, reviewing supporting evidence, and linking amounts due to payment records through existing payment channels. This provides a practical basis for checking project activities, identifying discrepancies and assessing whether future conditional payment options would offer additional benefits.
For an overview of the current application and approach,
visit the main Leapfrog page.
Towards inclusive governance for forest carbon markets 2026-2027
REM is working with partners Transparency International (Lead) and the Basel Institute on Governance to deliver this project. Funded by the UK FCDO through the Forest Governance Markets and Climate (FGMC2) Programme, it aims to reduce the risk of corruption and enhance trust in Carbon markets in Indonesia, Ghana, and Cameroon.
REM's collaboration with Iroko Analytics and CTFC in Cameroon focuses on assessing the potential benefits of Leapfrog to link restoration activities and participation records with supporting evidence, amounts due and payment records. Field consultations and testing will inform platform development and the accompanying policy analysis.
Scaling traceability to stop tropical deforestation 2026-2027
This REM-led project, funded by The Waterloo Foundation UK , supports consultation and testing with participants in smallholder agricultural supply chains. Working with NRE people, PlesLain and Cora, REM is exploring how Leapfrog can be adapted to the practical needs of cocoa growers, fermentery operators and other supply-chain participants in Papua New Guinea.
Following preliminary fieldwork and a regulatory and contextual review, the immediate pilot focus is on linking growers’ deliveries to quantities, agreed prices, amounts due and evidence of payment through existing channels. The aim is to create records that participants and project teams can check, helping them identify missing information and investigate discrepancies. This work is intended to support smallholder inclusion and strengthen the records available for wider traceability and supply-chain due diligence, including processes undertaken in response to the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Earlier work: charcoal traceability in Côte d’Ivoire, 2021
In 2021, REM, trading as Gaiachain, worked with Malebi, a women’s association in Côte d’Ivoire dedicated to sustainable charcoal production, on a pilot exploring the use of blockchain for charcoal traceability. The work drew on REM’s experience of forest governance, fraud risks and the drivers of deforestation.
This earlier pilot forms part of the background to REM’s subsequent work on traceability and accountability in forest-related supply chains.
Executive summary of the project
Blockchain technology for good charcoal governance in Ivory Coast (pdf FR)