The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is a multi-stakeholder forum that promotes the ‘landscape approach’. to building landscapes that are productive, prosperous, equitable and resilient. It works to catalyze a movement that puts communities first in informing and addressing landscape-level issues. The GLF’s network connects more than 10,500 organizations from 185 countries.
Overview The GLF is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on sustainable and inclusive landscapes. It works to catalyze a movement that puts communities first in informing and addressing landscape-level issues. It is led by the Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry Center (CIFOR-ICRAF). As of 2022, the GLF has connected more than 60,000 youth representatives, 90 governments, 10,500 organizations and 275,000 people from 185 countries, and has had a global accumulated reach through traditional and social media of more than 2 billion people. The GLF values are to connect with the value of inclusion, share with the value of equity, learn with the value of collaboration and act with the value of innovation.
History The inaugural GLF event took place alongside the 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 19) in Warsaw, Poland. It heralded the merger of Forest Day and Agriculture and Rural Development Day, reflecting a scientific climate which looked at 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 by the German government and the city of Bonn to establish a "sustainability cluster" in the city.
Partners The GLF is a flagship program of CIFOR-ICRAF with its GLF Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. Current core partners are the World Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme and 35 Charter Members:
CIAT CIFOR-ICRAF CIRAD Climate Focus Conservation International Crop Trust EcoAgriculture Partners European Forest Institute Evergreen Agriculture Food and Agriculture Organization Forest Stewardship Council Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development IFOAM - Organics International International Livestock Research Institute International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation IPMG International Union of Forest Research Organizations Rainforest Alliance RARE RRI Sustainable Agriculture Network Global Environment Facility World Bank TMG Thinktank United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification United Nations Environment Programme Wageningen University & Research World Farmers' Organisation World Resources Institute World Wide Fund for Nature Youth In Landscapes Initiative
As of 2017, the host country partners are the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Initiatives The GLF is a network that thrives on community support and engagement. It prioritizes the involvement of youth through the Youth In Landscapes Initiative platform. Additionally, GLFx connects local chapters worldwide to drive tangible progress towards sustainable landscapes.
Learning (Landscape Academy, Digital Campus) The GLF learning activities directly develop the capacity of the GLF’s wide-ranging stakeholders, allowing for increased uptake and scaling of sustainable landscape approaches and accelerated action at local levels. Specifically, the GLF works with partners and stakeholders to create and hold tailored training programs and workshops, and to create and curate complementary resources such as toolkits. The center of the GLF's learning activities, the Landscape Academy, is the hub for landscape learning and training, offering online and in-person learning opportunities. The Landscape Academy is a collaboration between the GLF, Wageningen University and Research and the UN Environment Programme, as well as the GLF partners, schools and universities across the world. Its aim is to strengthen the capacities of young, current and future professionals in landscape approaches, restoration and governance. As of 2021, over 18,000 learners have enrolled in the GLF-led Sustainable and Inclusive Landscapes certificate program, including online courses on landscape leadership, landscape governance, landscape finance, climate action, and biodiverse landscapes.
GLFx GLFx is the GLF’s program that through the establishment of local chapters supports community-led projects, helps scale up initiatives, drives local action, and enables knowledge sharing, focusing on improving landscapes from the ground up. The GLFx network connects and highlights the work of 34 chapters led by grassroots organizations at the forefront of change.
Youth in Landscapes Ever since the GLF’s inaugural event in Warsaw, Poland, back in 2013, GLF has engaged with youth-led and youth-serving organizations. On this occasion, 10 young professionals from across the world shared their stories and highlighted the key and active role that youth have in landscapes. This initial involvement of 10 people led to the decision of hiring a youth coordinator, to the formation of the Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL), and, in only 7 years, to the connection and training of thousands of individuals around the world.
YIL is a partnership coordinated by the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA), and Youth 4 Nature (Y4N). Together, these organizations represent over 60,000 young people working and studying across frontiers and generations to achieve justice and shared prosperity for communities and to support thriving landscapes.
Restoration Stewards Launched in 2020, the Restoration Stewards program – a collaboration between the Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL) and the GLF – selects young restoration practitioners for a year-long program that provides funding, mentorship, and training to support their restoration work.
Sustainable Finance and Value Chains The GLF Investment Case has become a sustainable finance forum globally, providing a convening space for a community of sustainable financial actors that review and launch strategies for land-based investments.
1,800 participants were selected to participate in person at the first four Investment Case events in London (2015, 2016), Washington D.C. (2018) and Luxembourg (2019), while thousands more tuned in virtually via live-stream. These events saw the launch of multiple major sustainable finance innovations, including the Tropical Landscapes Financing Facility (TLFF) in Indonesia and the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund.
Building on the fruitful organization of the 4th GLF Investment Case Symposium in Luxembourg in 2019, the GLF and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg launched a longer term partnership: The Luxembourg-GLF Finance For Nature Platform. The 2021-24 partnership will catalyze and accelerate the mainstreaming of sustainable finance and the development of innovative finance instruments that contribute to nature-based solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The GLF also focuses on sustainable value chains as a collaborator in the FOLUR Impact Program. Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) is a $345 million, seven-year initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility and led by the World Bank.
Seeking to transform food and land use systems, the program consists of a global knowledge platform and 27 country projects. Country-level work will focus on accelerating action in landscapes and along value chains for eight major commodities, including livestock, cocoa, coffee, maize, palm oil, rice, soy and wheat.
Events
Predecessor events 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 in 2013 out of a merger of Forest Day and Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD), which had been annual side events at the United Nations Climate Change conference (COP) since 2007 and 2009 respectively.
UNCCC COP side events Event Year Location Launches and highlightsCOP192013Warsaw, PolandOfficial launch of the GLF.COP206–7 December 2014Lima, PeruLaunch of the Youth in Landscapes (YIL) Initiative.COP212015Paris, FranceLaunch of AFR100.COP222016Marrakesh, MoroccoLaunch of the Global Peatlands Initiative; the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) announced a major injection of core funding to support the development of the GLF for the next five years.GLF Bonn 2017 alongside COP2319–20 December 2017Bonn, GermanyLaunch.GLF Katowice 2018 alongside COP249 December 2018Katowice, PolandThe second climate-focused GLF event unfolded in Katowice, Poland, on 9 December alongside COP24. Government officials, international organizations and NGOs, indigenous leaders and researchers came together to connect, learn, share their work and ideas to boost climate action within landscapes. Land use, biodiversity, indigenous community rights and forest restoration were core to the livestreamed discussions on how we can move faster and better in keeping global warming below 2 °C.GLF at COP2511 December 2019Madrid, SpainThe GLF live coverage during COP25.GLF Climate 2021 Hybrid Conference: Forests, Food, Finance — Frontiers of Change alongside COP265–7 November 2021Glasgow, Scotland, and online (hybrid)Hosted alongside COP26, the hybrid conference focused on concrete action to stop the climate crisis.GLF Climate 2022 Hybrid Conference: Frontiers of Change alongside COP2711–12 November 2022Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and online (hybrid)GLF Climate 2022 explored ways to take control of our own fate through collective action, behavior change and the widespread adoption of nature- and land-based solutions.GLF Nairobi 2023 Hybrid Conference: A New Vision for Earth ahead of COP2811–12 October 2023Nairobi, Kenya, and online (hybrid)Hosted ahead of COP28, GLF Nairobi 2023 explored local solutions to the global climate and biodiversity crises.GLF Climate 2025: A New Vision for Earth17 November 2025COP30 Blue Zone, Belem, Brazil and online (hybrid)Held at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, and livestreamed worldwide, GLF Climate 2025 gathered the majority for action – showcasing and demanding recognition for the grassroots climate solutions being led by communities worldwide.
Stand-alone flagship events