Side Event at Bonn Climate Change Conference

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and IIASA's Ecosystems Services and Management Program (ESM) co-hosted an event at the Bonn Climate Change Conference - May 2017. 

The event was aimed to demonstrate the contribution of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) approaches to the achievement of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Leading countries and expert organizations shared experiences and views in the design and successful implementation of FLR policies and practices. 

Panelists discussed how FLR contributes to reducing emissions and enhancing carbon stocks in forest landscapes, while encompassing multiple and integrative co-objectives towards increasing adaptation and resilience, facilitating sustainable rural development and relating to climate-smart investments. 

Country representatives reflected on the key role of FLR approaches in supporting countries’ efforts for achieving pre-2020 emission reduction goals as well as targets under their NDCs in the land-use, land-use change and forestry sector for the integral and sustainable management of forest landscapes.

The panelists were: Indonesia's Director General for Climate Change for Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Nur Masripatin; Climate Change and Forests Manager at Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, Leticia Guimaraes; Deputy Director and RESTORE+ Principal Investigator from IIASA, Florian Kraxner; Research Scholar and RESTORE+ Science-to-Policy Coordinator from IIASA, Ping Yowargana and Senior Policy Officer, Climate Change Specialist from IUCN, Maria Garcia Espinosa. The event was moderated by Sandeep Sengupta, the Global Coordinator of IUCN Climate Change Portfolio and a closing remark by Ruth Irlen, Policy Officer of Forest Conservation and Sustainable Management Division from BMUB. 

In this occasion, IIASA and IUCN shared their experiences in developing and applying methodologies at global and national level to identify and assess degraded forest landscapes and restoration opportunities. IUCN discussed FLR and the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) for identifying suitable country tailored restoration interventions from a socio-economic perspective. IIASA presented its recently launched initiative—RESTORE+, which combines remote sensing with crowd-sourced information on biophysical and societal complexity to assess FLR options from social, economic and environmental perspectives.  

The side event began with general remarks from IUCN on Forest Landscape Restoration, followed by interventions from panelists and a moderated discussion with Q&A from the audience, which enabled participants to deepen the conversation on specific issues.  

Follow the event channel livestream: 

Read more event coverage from IISD

Copyright: Photos by IISD/ENB | Angeles Estrada

More information: Contribution of Forest Landscape Restoration to NDCs, Wednesday, 17 May, 18:30-20:00

Last edited: 22 May 2017