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Forest and Landscape Restoration Asia

FLR Asia Investment Forum

Hybrid Event, 15/11/2023 - 16/11/2023

Global restoration commitments cover around one billion hectares. Implementing these requires investments of up to USD 1 670 billion (for 10 years). Forest and landscape restoration (FLR) is gaining momentum in the context of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, co-led by UNEP and FAO, to contribute to the targets of the Bonn Challenge, Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, Land Degradation Neutrality, and Global Land Initiative among others. Restoration of the world’s degraded landscapes is critical for ensuring a healthy natural resource base for more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems. 

At the regional level, the member countries of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission endorsed a Regional Strategy and Action Plan for FLR (RSAP) with strategic priorities for (i) facilitating and supporting the mobilization of financing for FLR; and (ii) encouraging private sector participation and investment in FLR. The third Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study also emphasized the need for large investments in FLR, the continued lack of which poses a major barrier for countries in the region who aspire to restore a consolidated total of at least 185 million hectares of degraded land. Funding needs to be raised at scale from all appropriate sources to meet the national and regional goals.

FAO has been assisting Bangladesh, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste to scale up FLR through a Regional Technical Cooperation Programme (regional TCP) project. A key planned output of this project is a donors and partners’ conference for scaling up restoration. A Regional Programmatic Framework for FLR building on the RSAP has been prepared as part of this project, and a Regional FLR Network of implementing partners is being shaped to help countries meet their restoration commitments and visions. FAO and partners aim to enhance and strengthen finance partnerships and coordinated investments in FLR, including through South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), the private sector, project aggregation, blended financing, and other emerging opportunities. The FLR Asia Investment Forum is a part of this effort. 

 

  Day 1 (15 November 2023)


Time (ICT)

Agenda

09.00-09.15

Welcome and opening remark: Robert Simpson, Regional Programme Leader, FAO

09.15- 09.30

Scene setting: FLR in Asia

  • FLR and the Regional FLR Strategy and Action Plan (Illias Animon, Forestry Officer, FAO)

  • Perspectives from the National FLR Investment Roundtable (Mariam Akhter, Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests, Bangladesh Forest Department)

Session 1

Investments in FLR in Asia; where we are now, where we want to be, and how to get there

Panel & plenary discussion: focus on Investment scale/ type, geographical/thematic priorities, lessons learned, etc.

09.30-10.30


  • Panel discussion


  • Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Gijs Theunissen, Agricultural Counsellor

  • USAID:  Suphasuk Pradubsuk, Program Development Specialist, USAID's Regional Development Mission for Asia

  • AFD:  Huihui Zhou, Environmental & Social, SDG Officer,  Southeast Asia Region

  • GIZ:  Siegmar Schoenherr, Forestry Advisor, GIZ Laos

  • World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD):Ryan Whisnant, Director, Land Use Finance & Member of the WBCSD Extended Leadership Group

  • Conservation International: Nicholas Souter, Freshwater Director – CI Cambodia

  • ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity: Clarissa Arida, Director of Programmes Department

  • AFoCO:  Emily Marie Lim, Program Officer, Strategic Planning Team

  • Landscape Partnership Asia: Brenna Moore, Senior Advisor – Grants & Partnerships, Global EverGreening Alliance

  • Q&A

10.30-10.45

COFFEE

10.45-12.50

  • Panel discussions

  • UN Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat: Jamal Annagylyjova, Ecosystem Restoration Officer

  • EcoMatcher Limited: Bas Fransen, CEO and Founder 

  • FAO:  Jiaoqun Shi, Special Advisor

  • CIFOR-ICRAF:  Himlal Baral, Senior Scientist

  • WWF – Greater Mekong:  Natasha Han, Forest Intelligence Coordinator

  • WRI India:  Ruchika Singh, Executive Program Director, Food, Land and Water

  • IKEA: Otto Zvagins, Wood Supply and Forestry Regional Manager

  • Asian Development Bank: Le Lan, Environmental Economist, Natural Capital and Climate Team

  • World Bank: Arturo Bolondi, Natural Resources Management Specialist

  • Q&A 

  • Plenary discussion 

       (Facilitated by Illias Animon, Forestry Officer, FAO)

12.50-13.00

  • FLR National Action Plan in Nepal: Lessons and investment opportunities (Sagar K. Rimal, Consultant, Nepal)

  • FLR and Sustainable Wood Supply: Reflections on advancing investments from the APFC 30 Dialogue Day (Peter Kanowski, Professor, The Australian National University)  

13.00-14.00

LUNCH

14.00-14.15

Launching the KID4FLR initiative

  • Mami Wada, HR Officer, Recruitment and Staffing, Human Resources Division, FAO

  • KID4FLR volunteers’ introduction, Devin Sethi, Consultant, FAO

  • Tomomi Ishida, Social Protection Officer, FAO

Session 2

 The Regional FLR Programmatic Framework/ Network

Panel and plenary discussion: where we are now, where we want to be, and how to get there

14.15-14.55


  • The Regional FLR Programmatic Framework/ Network proposal: Unna Chokkalingam, Consultant, FAO


  • Panel discussion with country representatives and partners

  • Liu Wei (Director of Planning Division, APFNet)

  • Nicholas Souter (Freshwater Director – Cambodia, Conservation International)

  • Fidaa Haddad (Forestry Officer, FAO) 

  • Natasha Han (Forest Intelligence Coordinator, WWF)

  • Anushree Bhattacharjee (Programme Officer, UNEP-WCMC)

  • Mariam Akhter (Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests, Bangladesh)

  • Abdul Haq Sheikh (Divisional Forest Officer, Pakistan)

14.55-15.10

FLR Projects; diversity and mapping: Satrio Adi Wicaksono, Programme Officer, IUCN Asia & Sojung Kang, International Landscape Restoration Associate, FAO

15.10-15.25

COFFEE

15.25-16.30


Plenary discussion: Operationalizing the Regional FLR Programmatic Framework/ Network (Facilitated by Unna Chokkalingam, Consultant, FAO)

16.30-18.00

Parallel events

  • Virtual Event: Landscape Partnership Asia Technical Partners’ Roundtable

  • Closed meeting: the terminal report of the Regional TCP project

 

Day 2 (16 November 2023)

Time (ICT)

Agenda

09.00-09.15

Recap and introduction to innovative FLR finance:Satrio Adi Wicaksono, Programme Officer, IUCN Asia

Session 1 continued

Investments in FLR in Asia; where we are now, where we want to be, and how to get there

Panel & plenary discussion: focus on Innovative finance, Investment scale/ type, geographical/thematic priorities, lessons learned, etc

09.15-11.00


  • Panel discussion

  • New Forests: Geoffrey Seeto, Head of Emerging Markets

  • Auburn University: Daowei Zhang, Professor of Forest Economics and Associate Dean

  • Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC): Wisnu Wibisono, Project Manager, Investor Practice team

  • Palladium International: Jeremiah Ayensu Bentum, Senior Manager, Climate, Environment & Natural Resources; Regional Manager for Partnerships for Forests Programme in SEA

  • Pegasus Capital Advisors: Peter Kennedy, Chief Investment Officer 

  • GEF: Matthew Reddy, Senior Private Sector Specialist

  • GCF: Daniel Farchy, Manager of Ecosystems Investment, Private Sector Facility (TBC)

  • USAID:  Suphasuk Pradubsuk, Program Development Specialist, USAID's Regional Development Mission for Asia

  • Asian Development Bank: Le Lan, Environmental Economist, Natural Capital and Climate Team

  • Conservation International: Nicholas Souter, Freshwater Director – CI Cambodia


  • Q&A 

11.00-11.15

COFFEE

11.15-12.50

  • Panel discussion

  • UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: Jean-Philippe Salcedo, Programme Management Officer and Partnership Coordinator (TBC)

  • FAO: Cathy Cao Xi, Regional Innovative Finance and Partnerships Specialist

  • BIOTEC (National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology): Warinthorn Songkasiri, Principal Researcher

  • Global Evergreening Alliance: Tim Morris, Head of Business Development 

  • UNEP Restoration Factory, Restoration Explorer approach, RSCF: Jonathan Gheyssens, Programme Officer

  • UNEP Sustaining an Abundance of Forest Ecosystems (SAFE): Alexis Corblin, Senior Regional Advisor

  • Forliance: Mauro Giuseppe Ciriminna, Senior Advisor, Project Originator and Financing

  • UNDP Biodiversity Credit Alliance: Manesh Lacoul, Global Coordinator

  • GIZ: Roland Treitler, Project Director, ASEAN EU German Climate Action Program

  • World Bank: Arturo Bolondi, Natural Resources Management Specialist

  • Q&A 

  • Facilitated dialogue: How to strengthen collaboration/synergies towards innovative FLR investments in the context of the Regional FLR Network/Programmatic Framework (Facilitated by Satrio Adi Wicaksono, IUCN)

12.50-13.00

FLR National Action Plan in Pakistan: Lessons and investment opportunities, Anwar Ali, Director Forestry Research, Pakistan Forest Institute

13.00-14.00

LUNCH

Session 2 continued

 The Regional FLR Programmatic Framework/ Network

Panel and plenary discussion: Strengthening the FLR Regional Programmatic Framework 

14.00-14.45

  • Reflections on the Framework from Day 1 and moving forward: Unna Chokkalingam, Consultant, FAO


  • Views from potential Champion countries

  • Viet Nam: Tran Quang Bao, DG of the Department of Forestry (TBC)

  • Japan: Naoki Hayasaka, Deputy Director, Forest Agency of Japan 

  • China: Yang Hui, Division Director of Department of Ecology Conservation and Restoration, National Forestry and Grassland Administration

  • Reflections from other countries 

  • Lao PDR (Teuanchay Phongkhamphanh, DG of the Department of Forestry)

  • Pakistan (Abdul Haq Sheikh, Divisional Forest Officer, Sindh Forest Department)

  • Bangladesh (Mariam Akhter, Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests, Development Planning Unit)

  • Timor-Leste (Adelino Rojario, Chief of Department of Reforestation)

  • Papua New Guinea (Hano Yatapya, Tree Plantation Officer, Afforestation & Reforestation Directorate)

  • Bhutan (Sonam Tobgay, Chief Forestry Officer, Ministry of Energy & Natural Resources)

  • Mongolia (Oyunsanaa Byambasuren, Director-General, National Forest Agency)

  • Thailand (Suwan Tangmitchareon-Director of Forest Research and Development Bureau, Royal Forest Department)

  • Nepal (Deepak K Kharal, Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment; TBC)

14.45-15.00

COFFEE

15.00-16.50

  • Opportunities and options for strengthening the FLR Regional Programmatic Framework 

  • Lessons from other regions/initiatives

   (Raquibul Amin, Country Representative for Bangladesh, IUCN)

  • Opportunities for strengthening regional collaboration on FLR

   (Makiko Yashiro, Programme Management Officer, UNEP) 

  • FAO Forestry Division roadmap 2024-2031 and FLR Umbrella programme

   (Ewald Rametsteiner, Deputy Director, FAO)

  • Monitoring the FLR Framework using FERM/other tools

   (Julian Fox, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO)

  • FAO FLRM, TRI and funding under the UN Decade

   (Christophe Besacier, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO)

  • FLR linkages with the private sector and and FLR framework

   (Lyndall Bull, Forestry Officer, FAO)

  • Energising FLR practitioners: FLR PRO (Regina Durst, Consultant, FAO)

  • Innovations and other efforts for knowledge management and capacity building 

   (Megha Bajaj, Consultant, FAO)


  • Plenary Discussion: tools, approaches and ways forward for strengthening the Framework (Facilitated by Unna Chokkalingam, Consultant, FAO)

16.50-17.00

Next steps: Satrio Adi Wicaksono, Programme Officer, IUCN Asia 

17.00-17.30

Closed meeting: the ways ahead with the Regional TCP project


Related links
https://www.fao.org/asiapacific/news/detail-events/en/c/1662939/
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