Global Landscapes Forum

Following a move towards more integrated landscape approaches in both the forestry and agriculture sides of the research for development sphere, the Global Landscapes Forum was born out of a merger of Forest Day and Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD), both of which were formerly long-standing side events at the United Nations Climate Change conference (COP).

Forest Day was an annual COP side event co-organized by CIFOR and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, since the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP13) in Bali, Indonesia.[4]

As of 2012, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2012, Forest Day became the International Day of Forests.[8] Thus the sixth and final Forest Day was held on the sidelines of the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18) in Doha, Qatar.

Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD) was an annual COP side event. The first event took place as a side event at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark.[9]

The fifth and final ARDD, called Agriculture, Landscapes, and Livelihoods Day 5 (ALL-5), took place alongside Forest Day on the sidelines of the COP18.[10]

The first major GLF event took place in Warsaw, Poland during the 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP19).[11]

The second major GLF event was held alongside the 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP20) from December 6–7, 2014. There were 1700 attendees and 95 organizations in attendance.[13]

This event saw the launch of the Youth in Landscapes initiative.[14]

The third major GLF event was held alongside the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), December 5–6, 2015.[15][16] There were 3200 attendees from 135 countries, including 19 Ministers and Heads of State, and 148 organizations.[17] Notably, 200 indigenous peoples’ representatives were sponsored to attend the 2015 Forum, and 45% of those in attendance were female.[18]

Initiatives launched at this event include:

• AFR100[19]
• Blue Carbon Initiative[20]
• Indonesian National Carbon Accounting System (INCAS)[21]
• Belantara Foundation
• Danone's New Climate Policy[22]

The fourth major GLF event was held alongside the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22), November 16, 2016. During this event, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) announced a major injection of core funding to support the development of the GLF for the next five years.[7]

Initiatives launched at this event include:[23]

• Climate Resilience through Sweetpotato (CReSP)[24]
• Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA 2020) African Palm Oil Initiative(APOI)[25]
• Global Peatlands Initiative[26]
• Earth Innovation Institute Produce and Protect Platform[27]
• Five Great Forests Initiative[28]
• Atlas of Deforestation and Industrial Plantations in Borneo[29]

Following the major injection of funding from the German government during the Marrakesh event, the GLF moved to establish a more permanent presence in Bonn, Germany. While the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) was held in Bonn the same year from November 6–17, 2017, the Global Landscapes Forum event took place just over a month later on December 19–20, 2017. This marked the first year that the GLF existed as its own entity and not as a COP side event. For the first time, the Wangari Maathai Forest Champion Award was presented at the GLF.[30]

The first Investment Case event took place on June 10–11, 2015 at the Royal Society in London, United Kingdom. It was an invitation-only symposium with 220 attendees from the finance sector.[31] It was coordinated by the European Investment Bank, UN Environment, the World Bank, and the Program on Forests (PROFOR). Sessions were hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Unilever, and the Climate Bonds Initiative.[31]

The roadmap from this event were presented at a land use side event 14th World Forestry Congress (WFC XIV) in Durban, South Africa,[32] the theme of which was Forests and People: Investing in a Sustainable Future.

Other key outcomes were presented to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) workplan for 2015.[33]

Riau, Indonesia 2017: Laws and Best Practices for Reducing Fire and Haze

The AFR100 initiative was launched at the GLF in Paris, 2015, and is also supported by the German government. Thus the GLF supported the Second Annual Partnership Conference in 2017, which brought together 23 partner countries, restoration champions, and technical partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD Agency), and World Vision.

Organized with CIFOR, this policy dialogue workshop looked at gender-responsive Forest and Landscape Restoration.