Photo credit: Amaiquez/Adobe Stock
Good news for the planet and its primary forests: the Global Environment Facility has engaged world-class scientists and experts on mobilizing cutting-edge tools and practices to protect tropical primary forests. The initiative was introduced during a workshop on “Advancing the Integrated Approach for Transformative Change in Tropical Forest Biomes,” held in Panama’s Gamboa Rainforest Reserve from October 7 to 10.
The workshop served as the starting point for the GEF’s most significant commitment yet to forest conservation at the global scale—the Amazon, Congo, and Critical Forest Biomes Integrated Program, endowed with a $307 million grant from the GEF and $1.7 billion of expected co-financing.
This Integrated Program brings together 28 countries across five major biomes - the Amazon, Congo, Indo-Malay, Guinean Forests of West Africa, and Mesoamerica - and its implementation will begin in 2025. As the program is made of five different regional sub-programs (one for each biome), the global platform aims to ensure coordination and build synergies between the regions.
This Panama gathering was unique in both scale and scope, as globally 50 participants including recognized scientists, conservation experts, and GEF partner agencies joined forces to lay the foundation for the global platform of this GEF Integrated Program. The event marked a milestone in the journey toward a new global community of practice, dedicated to primary forest conservation on a large scale. Through collaboration and shared resources, experts from different regions and specializations are now united under a common mission to support the implementation of the GEF’s Critical Forest Biomes Integrated Program and amplify its impact.
A holistic strategy for transformative change
Our planet’s forests span 4.1 billion hectares, yet only about 25% of this area remains as primary, undisturbed forests. These primary forests are unique ecosystems, holding massive carbon stocks, nurturing irreplaceable biodiversity, and offering vital ecosystem services that benefit all of humanity. But they are under constant threat: globally, we lose about 4.3 million hectares each year, a rate that is both unacceptable and alarming.
The GEF’s Integrated Program embraces a holistic and integrated approach, aiming to tackle primary forest conservation through systemic changes. The workshop explored the main threats to primary forests and the key elements of the program strategy including: the promotion of better governance and policy coherence, strengthening protected areas, conserving forests beyond protected areas, enhancing livelihoods for forest-dependent communities, restoring degraded forests, innovating and scaling up financial solutions, promoting international cooperation, and enhancing knowledge management.
The engagement by scientists and experts under the Critical Forest Biomes program will further strengthen implementation of the GEF strategy on forests, and also leverage a stand-alone IUCN-GEF project on “Strengthening Conservation of Primary Forests through Partnership Enhancement and Coordination of Support,” recently launched at UN Biodiversity COP16 to improve the conservation of primary forests through enhanced cooperation of key global players.
The long but promising road ahead
With the Amazon, Congo, and Critical Forest Biomes Integrated Program and its global platform, the GEF seeks to create a global movement made of a diversified group of experts and developers putting together their expertise, capacity, and enthusiasm to reinvigorate and advance global efforts toward forest protection, bringing new hope and momentum to conservation initiatives worldwide.
As a result of the workshop, expert working groups are being convened on specific key topics such as the global mapping of primary forests, empowerment of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, nature or biodiversity credits, and policy coherence. These working groups will synthesize existing knowledge and provide critical information supporting the implementation of the program.
The task at hand is complex and monumental. However, with such a committed community of practice, significant funding, and a clear, holistic strategy, the GEF initiative creates a new and needed space for the conservation of primary forests. This historic investment, along with the engagement of participating countries across the globe and the global platform, indicates that a new chapter in forest conservation has begun.
There is now an opportunity to transform how we consider and protect primary forests, with an emphasis on policy coherence, sustainable practices, community empowerment, innovative funding and international cooperation.
The journey may be long, but with this new momentum created by engaging scientists and experts, the GEF partnership is in a position to create a legacy that will shape the future of primary forest conservation. By creating communities of practice and fostering transformative change, the GEF program will not only improve the protection of existing primary forests but also ensure that these vital ecosystems continue to provide their invaluable services to humanity.
