Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration

Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration
Name	Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration
Abbreviation	GPFLR
Formation	2003
Type	Partnership
Headquarters	Bonn, Germany
Region served	Global

Contents

Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration The Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration coordinates international efforts to restore degraded landscapes, forests, and ecosystems across multiple continents. It aligns stakeholders including United Nations Environment Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Bank, European Commission, and regional bodies such as African Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations to implement Aichi Biodiversity Targets, Paris Agreement, and Sustainable Development Goal 15. The Partnership emphasizes science-policy interfaces involving institutions like International Union for Conservation of Nature, CGIAR, World Resources Institute, and Conservation International.

Overview and Objectives

The Partnership promotes forest landscape restoration to reverse desertification, enhance biodiversity corridors, bolster carbon sequestration, and support rural development through coordinated action among actors such as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity, Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund, and World Wildlife Fund. Its objectives include mobilizing technical assistance from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, aligning financial flows from European Investment Bank and Asian Development Bank with restoration plans, supporting national targets like the Bonn Challenge and New York Declaration on Forests, and fostering capacity building with partners such as University of Oxford and Yale University.

Founded in response to initiatives by United Nations Environment Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and launched in the early 2000s, the Partnership grew amid parallel processes including the Bonn Challenge (2011), the Rio+20 conference, and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Early collaboration involved stakeholders such as IUCN, World Bank, UN Development Programme, International Union of Forest Research Organizations, and national ministries from Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Kenya. Over time it incorporated science-policy contributions from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, technical models from International Food Policy Research Institute, and monitoring tools influenced by Global Forest Watch and SERVIR.

Governance involves a multi-stakeholder steering committee with representatives from entities like United Nations Environment Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, IUCN, World Bank, Conservation International, and civil society networks such as The Nature Conservancy and Forest Stewardship Council. Membership spans national governments including Brazil, China, South Africa, Australia, Canada, donor agencies like United States Agency for International Development and Department for International Development (United Kingdom), research institutions such as CIFOR-ICRAF and Wageningen University, and indigenous organizations like Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin. Decision-making interfaces with forums like the United Nations Forum on Forests and advisory groups linked to the Global Landscapes Forum.

Programs include technical guidance on mosaic landscapes and agroforestry involving partners like World Agroforestry Centre, restoration planning tools informed by Atlas of Forest and Landscape Restoration Opportunities, pilot projects in regions like the Mekong River basin and the Sahel, and capacity-building delivered with FAO and UNDP. Initiatives collaborate with climate finance mechanisms including Green Climate Fund pipelines, biodiversity programs aligned with Convention on Biological Diversity targets, and private-sector engagement facilitated by International Finance Corporation and Global Environment Facility projects. Knowledge exchange occurs through the Global Landscapes Forum, thematic working groups, and training with universities such as University of Cambridge and University of California, Berkeley.

Funding sources combine multilateral donors such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and European Commission with philanthropic grants from MacArthur Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-affiliated programs. Partnerships extend to corporations engaged in supply-chain sustainability including Unilever, Nestlé, and IKEA Foundation as well as market initiatives like REDD+ and certification schemes by Forest Stewardship Council and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Bilateral cooperation comes from agencies including USAID, JICA, and GIZ, while implementation partners include African Development Bank and regional bodies like Pacific Islands Forum.

Monitoring frameworks draw on remote sensing platforms such as Landsat, Sentinel-2, MODIS, data services like Global Forest Watch, and modeling tools developed by IPCC authors and NASA scientists. Reported impacts reference restored hectares under commitments like the Bonn Challenge, carbon estimates compatible with Nationally Determined Contributions, and co-benefits for livelihoods documented in case studies from Ethiopia, Vietnam, Colombia, and Philippines. Independent assessments by organizations such as World Resources Institute, IUCN, and academic groups at Stanford University and University of Cambridge inform adaptive management and reporting to forums like UNFCCC and Convention on Biological Diversity.

Critics from NGOs such as Friends of the Earth and scholars at University of Oxford and London School of Economics highlight risks including potential land tenure conflicts involving indigenous peoples like those represented by International Indian Treaty Council and Forest Peoples Programme, ecological mismatches raised by Conservation International and Pew Charitable Trusts, and governance concerns noted by Transparency International. Debates involve the balance between large-scale afforestation promoted by actors like China and community-led restoration emphasized by organizations such as Practical Action and Rainforest Alliance, as well as measurement disputes over carbon accounting standards from VCS and Gold Standard.