At the Global Landscapes Forum in Marrakesh, the German Federal Government announced to 5,500 participants here and online, and several million social media followers that the German Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation are working together to support the GLF for the next four years in Bonn. The platform for global action will meet in Bonn for the first time in 2017.
CIFOR will continue to spearhead the science-led platform, working with its Coordinating Partners: UN Environment, World Bank, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), and Credit Suisse.
The GLF will contribute to bringing new ideas for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and addressing climate change challenges.
The GLF will continue to grow as an action-based platform that positions scientific research at the forefront and allows experts, governments, civil society, community actors, the private sector, and more to link solutions and challenges to results.
The GLF has already served as a platform for government and corporate pledges to restore 148 million hectares of degraded lands in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It aims to raise that figure to 400 million hectares by 2020.
German Environment Minister Dr. Barbara Hendricks said about the Forum: “Since its founding in 2013, the Global Landscapes Forum took over a leading role in the worldwide protection of threatened landscapes. The organization connects the fight against climate change and the agenda for sustainable development in a balanced and results oriented manner. This reflects Germany’s approach to development very well; at the same time the city of Bonn is strategically well situated as the city is currently positioning itself as a center for organizations of development cooperation. We look forward to cooperating with the GLF over the next four years.”
Peter Holmgren, CIFOR’s Director General, welcomed the announcement and Germany’s support at the GLF event in Marrakesh. “We would like to thank the German government for enabling the GLF to take this major step forward. The GLF is unique because it brings together indigenous leaders and national leaders, farmers and financiers, NGOs and big corporates under one roof to exchange their views frankly and to learn from each other. The popularity of this approach is growing around the world and our new centre in Bonn will be a significant boost. It may be ambitious, but we want the landscapes message to reach a billion people over the next few years.”
Read more about the launch of the new GLF at http://www.landscapes.org/glf-marrakesh/
Watch State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth announcing German government’s pledge to support the GLF