Forests support the livelihoods of millions of local people, are home to invaluable biodiversity, and are critical to mitigating and adapting to climate change. But across the world, they are increasingly threatened by a lack of appropriate forest policies and accessible funds for sustainable forest management and conservation. Partnerships among the historically ‘voiceless’ — local communities, indigenous people, smallholders and other often marginalised groups — are proving to be a powerful tool for stimulating appropriate policy and financing solutions for those people using and managing forests every day.