REDD + is a voluntary process. In Costa Rica it is led by FONAFIFO, funded by the German Cooperation (GIZ), the REDD agenda of the United Nations (UN-REDD), Norwegian background and mostly by the Partnership Facility Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).

 
The REDD + Strategy is based on the socio-environmental institutional framework that the country has been building since the previous century. It is also part of the National Climate Change Strategy, specifically in the mitigation component and in the land conversion sector that specifically aims to prevent emissions from deforestation and degradation of forest ecosystems. Similarly, the National Policy for Carbon Neutrality by 2021 framed the development of the REDD + Strategy.

As a mechanism of organization and governance, the Costa Rican government introduced the national legal framework, the Executive Decree No. 37352-MINAET published in La Gaceta No. 220 of 14 November 2012. This decree defined the organizational structure and functions for the REDD + Executive Committee and the Executive Secretariat REDD +. Furthermore, Article No. 7 defines that correspond to the public institutions involved designate a contact person for this project; it leads to the establishment of an interagency commission. The existing institutional framework was used to establish REDD + governance, supported by an Executive Committee and an Interagency Commission.