PROFOR participated in the 2014 Global Landscapes Forum as an implementing partner for the event, co-host for a discussion session on forest knowledge products and tools (with IUCN and CIFOR) and convenor of a high-level session on adaptation-based mitigation.
 

At the discussion session on the Role of Knowledge Products and Tools in Achieving More Sustainable Management of Landscapes for the Post-2015 Development Agenda on Saturday, December 6, KNOWFOR partners (CIFOR, IUCN and PROFOR) shared experiences with applying forest knowledge tools related to aspects of climate change and landscape restoration.

Erick Fernandes, Agriculture Advisor, World Bank Group, presented a an integrated decision and policy support tool for policy makers developed by PROFOR and the World Bank to help policy makers balance complex tradeoffs for land use and development goals. Rodrigo Lima, AgriCone Brazil, shared experiences with how the tools have been used in Brazil.

Session participants appreciated the approach of the event in presenting both the tools/research methods and experiences of uptake of those.  There was recognition of the importance of continuously updating tools and research methods to reflect changing circumstances.  Everybody recognized the need to have good data and to have a demand-based approach to the development of knowledge products (while recognizing this is not always the case). A video recording and presentations from the session are available here.
 

At the PROFOR-organized High-Level Session on Adaptation-based Mitigation on Sunday, December 7, government officials and private sector actors participated in a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities for adaptation-based mitigation activities and the international and cross-sectoral collaboration needed to implement a landscape approach. Participants were Mark Burrows, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Global Investment Banking Credit Suisse, Bianaca Jagger, Founder and Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, Heru Prasetyo, Head, REDD+ Management Agency, Indonesia, and Mamadou Diakhite, Leader of the Sustainable Land and Water Management Program of the African Union/NEPAD.

Key points of the conversation included:

Adaptation-based mitigation is an imperative for developing countries

Landscape restoration serves as a bridge for adaptation and mitigation

Private financing will be key to making financing accessible to small holders

Carbon emission mitigation potential must be measured in adaptation activities

• The blog post “Climate smart management for farms, forests and everything in between” by PROFOR Manager Diji Chandrasekharan-Behr provides further details.