European Union

On Thursday morning, participants met to discuss innovative instruments to upscale progress: financing, technologies and research. Parallel sessions addressed: public and private international finance; innovative technologies for land-use monitoring; financial instruments to mobilize domestic funding; and the role of science and research. In the afternoon, plenary discussed a series of key messages, including: - maintaining sufficient productive, diverse and healthy forests is crucial for achieving the SDGs, and climate and biodiversity targets; - achieving SDG 15.2 on halting deforestation by 2020 and Target 1.1 of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests on reversing the loss of forest cover and increasing forest areas by 3% worldwide by 2030 can only be achieved through political will, individual motivation and concerted collective action, adequate governance frameworks and involvement of multiple actors; - halting deforestation requires corporate responsibility of agribusiness, supported by international trade instruments and consumer education; - scaling up finance and investment requires positive incentives, improved legality, public-private partnerships, innovative instruments and de-risking private sector investment; - land-use competition between forests and agriculture can be solved by a landscape approach to increase resilience; and - expanded research is required to provide practical pathways that support the development of evidence-based policies. Some participants urged limiting the number of key messages to four, while others made suggestions for additions and revisions, including on: the urgency of addressing deforestation; focus on restoration; the contribution of indigenous and tribal peoples; triggers of transformational change; involvement of smallholders; and focus on actionable recommendations to target groups such as governments, the private sector, civil society, and the research community. Plenary then addressed the Co-Chairs’ summary of the parallel thematic sessions. Participants suggested additions, including on: certification; action by governments to regulate agribusiness; the need for tenure reform; review of agricultural subsidies; forest-related education, vocational training and extension; and results-based payments for REDD+ for financing sustainable landscape management. Co-Chairs Hiroto Mitsugi and Ikram Yaakob noted that the key messages and the Co-Chairs’ summary will be revised and posted on the meeting website, before transmission to the 13th session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF 13) and to the 2018 session of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF). The meeting closed at 17:18 pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the International Conference on “Working Across Sectors to Halt Deforestation and Increase Forest Area - From Aspiration to Action.” The summary report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Session Chun Lai, Moderator, Independent Environmental Services Professional Eva Müller, Director, Forestry Department, FAO Salina Abraham, Youth Coordinator, Global Landscapes Forum - President, International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA) Co-Chair Ikram Yaakob, Chair of UNFF 13 Christopher Stewart, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, OLAM Cécile Ndjebet, President, African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF) François Pythoud, Chair, FAO Committee on Agriculture, and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to FAO Public and private international finance From L-R: Tom Alpe, International Climate Finance Manager, Forests and Land Use, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), UK; Eduardo Juarez Mejia, Director-General, FINDECA, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mexico; Andrew Mitchell, Founder and Director, Global Canopy Program and Ecosphere+; Adeline Dontenville, REDD+ Expert, EU REDD Facility, European Forestry Institute; and Ben Valk, Head, Food and Agriculture Partnerships, Rabobank Andrew Mitchell, Founder and Director, Global Canopy Program and Ecosphere+ Adeline Dontenville, REDD+ Expert, EU REDD Facility, European Forestry Institute Ben Valk, Head, Food and Agriculture Partnerships, Rabobank Tom Alpe, International Climate Finance Manager, Forests and Land Use, BEIS, UK Innovative technologies for land-use monitoring Sara Aparicio, Young Graduate Trainee, European Space Agency (ESA) Gilberto Câmara, Researcher, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil Daniel Irwin, Research Scientist, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center Erik Lindquist, Forestry Officer, FAO Diego Mohr Bell, Geomatic Coordinator, Conocimiento e Innovación en Bosques Patagónicos (CIEFAP), Argentina Financial instruments to mobilize domestic funding From L-R: Ulrich Apel, Senior Environmental Specialist, Global Environment Facility (GEF); Pascal Martinez, Climate Change Specialist, GEF; Alain Karsenty, Senior Researcher, Centre for Agricultural Research, Cooperation and Development (CIRAD), Department of Environment, France; Hanta Rabetaliana, Former General Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Madagascar; and Youssef Saadani, Former Director, General Directorate of Forestry, Tunisia Hanta Rabetaliana, Former General Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Madagascar Alain Karsenty, Senior Researcher, CIRAD Youssef Saadani, Former Director, General Directorate of Forestry, Tunisia The role of science and research Vincent Gitz, Director, Program on Forests, CGIAR Daniela Kleinschmit, Professor of Forest and Environmental Policy, University of Freiburg, Germany Pablo Pacheco, Principal Scientist, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Hans Hoogeveen, Ambassador/ Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the FAO Between Sessions Attia Rafla, and Salem Trigui, Tunisia Around the venue Videos by the organizers

On Tuesday, Conference participants met in a plenary session to hear opening remarks and keynote presentations. Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, FAO, highlighted the urgency of achieving the targets of SDG 15 (life on land) and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests for 2017-2030 (UNSPF). She noted that, according to FAO’s report on the State of the World’s Forests, over 25 countries managed to improve food security while maintaining, or even increasing, forest cover. Via a video message, Marie Chatardová, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), stressed that the UNSPF provides a global framework and blueprint for action by all stakeholders at all levels to preserve forest functions and benefits. Manoel Sobral Filho, Director, Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), stressed that the UNSPF target of increasing forest area globally by 3% by 2030 can be achieved. Amédi Camara, President, Council of Ministers of the pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall, highlighted challenges to halt deforestation in Africa, and the Great Green Wall project, an African-led initiative to protect and reforest. He said the project will benefit people that are at the frontline of climate change impacts. In a keynote address, Christiana Figueres, Convener, Mission 2020, highlighted that primary forests are irreplaceable and key to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ºC stated in the Paris Agreement. To achieve the 2020 targets on forests, she suggested moving from threat-based to opportunity-oriented approaches. Tony Simons, Director General, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), identified required actions, including policy review to advance agroforestry, improving land-use management and planning, leveraging social capital, engaging the private sector and consumers, and scaling-up research. Eva Müller, Director, Forestry Policy and Resources Division, FAO, presented the Conference objectives, including to promote dialogue across sectors and stakeholder groups, and make recommendations to the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) through UNFF 13. She suggested focusing on best practices and solutions. Participants then met in parallel sessions throughout the day to discuss: people-centred approaches to integrated landscape management; agroforestry and silvo-pastoral systems; forest management and landscape restoration; sustainable agricultural production approaches; achieving corporate commitments and zero deforestation initiatives for agricultural commodities; and forest products value chains in the bio-economy. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the International Conference on “Working Across Sectors to Halt Deforestation and Increase Forest Area - From Aspiration to Action.” The summary report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening Ceremony From L-R: Amédi Camara, President of the Council of Ministers, PanAfrican Agency of the Great Green Wall; Ikram Yaakob, Chair of UNFF 13; Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, FAO; Hiroto Mitsugi, Assistant Director-General, Forestry Department, FAO; and Manoel Sobral Filho, Director, UNFF Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, FAO Amédi Camara, President of the Council of Ministers, PanAfrican Agency of the Great Green Wall Manoel Sobral Filho, Director, UNFF Marie Chatardová, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Plenary Session From L-R: Christiana Figueres, Convener Mission 2020 and former Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); Co-Chair Hiroto Mitsugi, Assistant Director-General, Forestry Department, FAO; Co-Chair Ikram Yaakob, Chair of UNFF 13; Eva Müller, Director, Forestry Department, FAO; and Tony Simons, Director-General, World Agroforestry Centre Christiana Figueres, Convener Mission 2020 and former Executive Secretary, UNFCCC Tony Simons, Director-General, World Agroforestry Centre Co-Chair Hiroto Mitsugi, Assistant Director-General, Forestry Department, FAO Co-Chair Ikram Yaakob, Chair of UNFF 13 Eva Müller, Director, Forestry Department, FAO Agroforestry and silvo-pastoral systems From L-R: Sonya Dewi, World Agroforestry Centre; Milton Kanashiro, Researcher, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA); Yasmin Cajas, Entrepreneur, Silvopastoral Systems, Colombia; Tony Simons, Director-General, World Agroforestry Centre; Maria Mosquera Losada, President, European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF); and Daniel Ofori, Director and Chief Research Scientist, Forestry Research Institute, Ghana Milton Kanashiro, Researcher, EMBRAPA Sonya Dewi, World Agroforestry Centre Yasmin Cajas, Entrepreneur, Silvopastoral Systems, Colombia People-centred approaches to integrated landscape management Godlisten Matilya, Coordinator of Climate Change Project, Maasai Steppe Heartland Cora Van Oosten, Project manager and Programme coordinator, Center for Development Innovation, Wageningen University Augusta Mindry Anandi, Coordinator, Sustainable Land use planning, USAID Lestari Indonesia Barron Orr, Lead Scientist, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Sustainable Forest Management and Landscape Restoration From L-R: Carlos Alberto Mesquita, Former Director of Landscape Strategy, Conservation International, Brazil; Tangu Tumeo, FLR Focal Point, Department of Forest, Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Malwai; Tim Christophersen, Coordinator, Freshwater, Land and Climate Branch Ecosystems Division, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP); Gustavo Suárez de Freitas, National Program Coordinator, Earth Innovations Institute, Peru; and Rafael Barreiro Chaves, Director of Center for Ecological Restoration, Environmental Secretariat State of Sao Paulo, Brazil Carlos Alberto Mesquita, Former Director of Landscape Strategy, Conservation International, Brazil Tangu Tumeo, FLR Focal Point, Department of Forest, Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Malwai Gustavo Suárez de Freitas, National Program Coordinator, Earth Innovations Institute, Peru Sustainable agricultural production approaches Clayton Campanhola, Strategic Programme Leader, FAO Kwesi Atta-Krah, Director, Country Alignment and Systems Integration, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, Mars, Incorporated Aletia Melissa Pérez-Picon, Farm owner and manager Donald Macintosh, Consultant Advisor, Asian Institute of Technology Achieving corporate commitments and zero deforestation initiatives for agricultural commodities Christopher Stewart, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, OLAM Charles O'Malley, Senior Partnership Advisor, Green Commodities Program, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Stephen Donofrio, Senior Advisor, Forest Trends Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, Head, Climate Change Unit, National REDD+ Secretariat, Forestry Commission of Ghana Toshimasa Masuyama, Deputy Director International Forestry Cooperation Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan Forest products value chains in the bio-economy Sheam Satkuru, Assistant Director of Operations, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Ulrich Grauert, Chief Executive Officer, INTERHOLCO Andrea Stocchero, Researcher, Scion Research Camille Rebelo, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, EcoPlanet Bamboo Between Sessions Toshimasa Masuyama, Japan, with Matthias Schwoerer, Germany Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Conservation International, and Thomas Hammond, Senior Lands Officer, FAO Salem Trigui, Tunisia, and Alexander Kastl, Germany Andrew Miccolis, World Agroforestry Centre, with Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, Mars, Incorporated Reception Videos by the organizers