The Global Landscapes Forum is a knowledge-led multi-stakeholder forum dedicated to promoting the landscape approach.
Overview
The GLF is the largest knowledge-led platform on sustainable land use. Since 2013, over 4,400 organizations and 190,000 people have taken part in Forum events in person and online. It is led by the Center for International Forestry Research.
History
The inaugural GLF event took place alongside to 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland. It heralded the merger of Forest Day and Agriculture and Rural Development Day, reflecting a scientific climate that favored breaking down research silos and utilizing an integrated landscape approach. The first four major GLF events were held annually on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Following a major funding injection from the German government, the GLF moved to establish a secretariat in Bonn, Germany. This is part of an effort on the part of the German government and the city of Bonn to establish a "sustainability cluster" in the city.
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, both of which were formerly long-standing side events at the United Nations Climate Change conference.
Agriculture and Rural Development Day was an annual COP side event. The first event took place as a side event at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The fifth and final ARDD, called Agriculture, Landscapes, and Livelihoods Day 5, took place alongside Forest Day on the sidelines of the COP18.
Annual Events
The first major GLF event took place in Warsaw, Poland during the 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The second major GLF event was held alongside the 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference from December 6–7, 2014. There were 1700 attendees and 95 organizations in attendance. This event saw the launch of the Youth in Landscapes initiative. The third major GLF event was held alongside the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, December 5–6, 2015. There were 3200 attendees from 135 countries, including 19 Ministers and Heads of State, and 148 organizations. Notably, 200 indigenous peoples’ representatives were sponsored to attend the 2015 Forum, and 45% of those in attendance were female. Initiatives launched at this event include:
Earth Innovation Institute Produce and Protect Platform
Five Great Forests Initiative
Atlas of Deforestation and Industrial Plantations in Borneo
Following the major injection of funding from the German government during the, the GLF moved to establish a more permanent presence in Bonn, Germany. While the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference 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.