Kuala Lampur, Nov. 25 -- We've seen this story before. A high-level summit, a splashy new fund, and grand promises to finally halt the destruction of the world's tropical forests.

The latest hopeful chapter is the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a Brazilian-led initiative aiming to create a perpetual fund that pays countries for the sheer volume of forest they preserve.

On the surface, it's a brilliant and long-overdue idea. Instead of piecemeal projects or complex carbon credits, the TFFF proposes a simple, scalable model: pay for standing trees.

It recognises that forests are a global public good and that the nations housing them need a reliable economic incentive to keep them intact. The question is, will this work?

But be...