CIFOR-ICRAF

CIFOR-ICRAF
Name	CIFOR-ICRAF
Formation	2019 (merger announced)
Type	International research institute
Headquarters	Nairobi, Kenya
Fields	Forestry, agroforestry, climate, biodiversity, land use
Leader title	Director General

CIFOR-ICRAF CIFOR-ICRAF is an international research institution formed through a strategic consolidation of two major tropical forestry and agroforestry organizations to advance landscape restoration, climate mitigation, and sustainable development across the Global South. It integrates long-standing scientific programs and global partnerships to influence policy negotiations, donor agendas, and field-based interventions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The institution interfaces with multilateral processes, regional bodies, and national agencies to translate experimental evidence into scalable practices affecting forests, agroforestry systems, and carbon markets.

History and merger

The organization emerged from the union of the Center for International Forestry Research and the World Agroforestry Centre, institutions with origins tied to institutions such as Food and Agriculture Organization, World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and networks linked to the Commonwealth and European Commission. Its predecessors collaborated with research partners including CIFOR-affiliated networks, CGIAR centers like International Rice Research Institute, International Potato Center, International Livestock Research Institute, and International Water Management Institute on cross-sectoral projects. Historic milestones include participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change dialogues, contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, and engagement with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Paris Agreement negotiations. Corporate memory draws on field experiments in sites associated with Amazon Rainforest, Congo Basin, Mekong River, and the Eastern Arc Mountains, and longstanding collaborations with universities such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Wageningen University, University of California, Berkeley, and Makerere University.

Mission and objectives

The institute pursues objectives aligned with international frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and commitments under the Green Climate Fund and Global Environment Facility. Key goals emphasize enhancing carbon sequestration in landscapes linked to the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming, promoting biodiversity outcomes referenced in the Convention on Biological Diversity, and improving rural livelihoods in contexts cited by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme. Strategic objectives include generating evidence to inform policy at fora such as the United Nations General Assembly, regional institutions like the African Union, and national ministries of environment and agriculture across countries like Kenya, Indonesia, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Colombia.

Research programs and initiatives

Programs integrate multi-disciplinary work seen in collaborations with institutes such as Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Stockholm Environment Institute, and World Resources Institute. Research themes cover carbon accounting methodologies used by IPCC protocols, biodiversity monitoring techniques aligned with GBIF standards, and socio-economic analyses interfacing with OECD frameworks. Signature initiatives include landscape restoration trials influenced by Bonn Challenge commitments, agroforestry scaling following models from Forest Stewardship Council-aligned certification pilots, and climate-smart land use projects tapping into REDD+ mechanisms. Projects leverage tools and datasets comparable to Global Forest Watch, MODIS remote sensing, and inventories akin to national forest inventories used in Costa Rica and Vietnam.

Organizational structure and governance

Governance arrangements reflect practices common to international research organizations such as the Rockefeller Foundation-backed initiatives and multinational consortia like CGIAR. The board and advisory panels include representatives from donor governments (for example, delegations from United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands), UN agencies, and private foundations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and MacArthur Foundation. Scientific leadership coordinates thematic divisions reminiscent of centers at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and regional hubs located in Nairobi, Jakarta, and Lima, engaging national research institutes like Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization, Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development, and Embrapa. Operational units manage finance, communications, and partnerships following standards used by institutions participating in the OECD Development Assistance Committee.

Funding and partnerships

Funding streams combine multilateral grants from entities such as the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, and bilateral aid from ministries including Agence Française de Développement and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as philanthropic support from Rockefeller Foundation, Gates Foundation, and corporate partnerships with firms engaged in supply chains overseen by Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and Forest Stewardship Council certification schemes. Strategic partnerships extend to research collaborators like CIFOR-associated networks, ILRI, CIAT, CABI, and academic partners including Imperial College London and Yale University. Programmatic funding also aligns with initiatives from European Union development programs and investments by multilateral development banks such as the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Impact and achievements

The institute’s combined legacy includes contributions to national restoration pledges under the Bonn Challenge and evidence used in national REDD+ strategies submitted to UNFCCC. Scientific outputs have influenced policy dialogues at the Convention on Biological Diversity Conferences of the Parties and informed national land-use planning in countries like Madagascar, Peru, and Philippines. Research has supported commodity roundtables including RSPO and helped scale agroforestry models observed in Costa Rica payment for ecosystem services programs and Uganda agroforestry adoption pathways. Its datasets and tools complement platforms such as Global Forest Watch and inform indicators in Sustainable Development Goal reporting and Nationally Determined Contributions for methane and land-sector carbon accounting.

Category:International research organizations