This Forest and Climate Significant Story captures the process through which community members, regional government officials, civil society members, indigenous groups, and WWF came to work together to lay the foundation for green development in Peru’s Madre de Dios region. They overcame a lack of resources, support, and trust to build new partnerships, and create capacities that range from the technical know-how of mapping deforestation and forest degradation to the ability to incorporate indigenous worldviews and rights in planning for the region’s future.