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12 Indigenous and community-led initiatives join global network for sustainable landscapes (EN·SP·PT·FR·ID)

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 03:59:32 +0000

Today, the World Bank launches the report “Agriculture Rooted in Biodiversity,” outlining immediate opportunities to build resilient agricultural landscapes

With up to 40 percent of land worldwide degraded, ecosystem diversity underpins the natural services that sustain agriculture

Long-term public funding is needed for local context-specific research and farmer incentives as part of a wider shift toward sustainable practices

Bonn, Germany (11 December 2025) – The World Bank’s new report, “Agriculture Rooted in Biodiversity,” underscores the urgency of protecting life diversity in ecosystems across the planet to safeguard crop and livestock production and the livelihoods that rely on it.

Up to 40 percent of the world’s land area is degraded, jeopardizing the livelihoods of at least 3.2 billion people and causing economic losses worth more than 10 percent of annual global GDP.

The report, aimed at government agencies and ministries, development partners and multilateral development banks supporting governments, provides the knowledge, policy tools and investment options needed to boost biodiversity and meet growing food demand and improve healthy diets globally.

It illustrates the impact of diversity at genetic, species and ecosystem levels and how it helps maintain soil health, regulate water quality and flows, pollination, control pests and disease and regulate climate, among other vital ecosystem services.

“Integrating farming and biodiversity should also be the business of ministries of agriculture and finance – working hand in hand with farmers, investors and researchers. Because it makes good economic sense,” said Juergen Voegele, Vice President, Planet, World Bank.

“When nature and biodiversity collapse, agriculture pays the price. Agricultural losses from water-related shocks have increased by an astounding 65 percent over the last century, exceeding $300 billion annually,” Voegele added.

The report also highlights how unsustainable agricultural practices such as monocropping, overgrazing and excessive water extraction are driving biodiversity loss. It calls for a transition to sustainable approaches backed by long-term public funding for context-specific research and incentives for farmers, who face high initial investment costs and long payback periods.

At a time when agricultural support incentivizes unsustainable practices, the report shows how policy and investment can target practices that improve both biodiversity and productivity.

It outlines actions that can be taken now – from applying spatial data for conservation and restoration to supporting farmers in conserving plant genetic resources and monitoring the biodiversity that sustains agriculture.

“In rural landscapes, farmers and cooperatives, are quietly showing what real solutions look like. They are conserving agrobiodiversity, protecting community led seed banks and also restoring ecosystems through agroecology,” said Shaik Imran Hussain Choudhary, Co-Founder of Prakheti Agrologics and 2025 GLF Forest Restoration Steward.

Watch the launch of “Agriculture Rooted in Biodiversity”:

Did you know?

Wild pollinators have declined by over 40 percent in the past decade, undermining pollination, which is valued at $235–$577 billion per year

Climate-related agricultural losses have increased by 150 percent since 1980 and now exceed $100 billion annually

Natural vegetation loss and land conversion have increased agriculture’s vulnerability to hazards and extreme events, with an estimated production loss of $3.8 trillion over the past three decades

Agricultural biodiversity has declined significantly, with commercial crop varieties decreasing 75 percent since 1900

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The report was prepared by the World Bank in cooperation with CGIAR, the Wildlife Conservation Society and FAO, with financial support from Food Systems 2030, NBS Invest, Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership and PROGREEN trust funds, and the FAO Cooperative Program.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information, or to schedule interviews, contact Kelly Quintero (k.quintero@cifor-icraf.org)

ABOUT THE GLF
The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, connecting people with a shared vision to create productive, profitable, equitable and resilient landscapes. It is led by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), in collaboration with its co-founders UNEP and the World Bank, and its charter members. Learn more at www.globallandscapesforum.org.

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How are youth overcoming access barriers? Reflections from the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance Forum

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 23:50:36 +0000

Display at the Climate Finance: Delivering Climate Solutions Through Agrifood Systems exhibit, FAO headquarters, Rome. Photo by Piedad Martín

By: Edoardo Corriere, YPARD Policy and Programs Coordinator

I arrived at the FAO headquarters in Rome in September, expecting a finance meeting. What I found at the 2025 Forum of the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance felt more like a translation exercise between technical language and lived reality.

As one co-chair said, “We often speak in terms that many people working on the ground won’t understand.” The tension between the systems that move money and the communities that need it underpinned every session.

This year’s forum focused on financing climate-resilient food systems and agriculture. It gathered ministers, representatives from multilateral funds and development banks, farmers’ organizations, Indigenous leaders, researchers and youth.

The core message was simple and uncomfortable: Agriculture is central to climate action, yet smallholders, pastoralists, fishers, youth, women and Indigenous Peoples remain last in line for climate finance.

The problem is not just “more money,” it’s how money moves

A farmer leader from the Georgian Farmers’ Association captured this paradox: farmers are on the frontline of climate impacts, yet at the back of the line for financial support.

Collateral and land tenor requirements are often misaligned with smallholder realities; due diligence and reporting are difficult and loan requirements from banks are often too large or their repayment terms are too rigid. Several speakers converged on the same solution: blend and de-risk finance.

Guarantees, first-loss capital and concessional money can incentivize local banks and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) to finance rural lending. Affordable climate risk insurance, including public, two-tier schemes, helps lenders price risk and helps farmers recover after economic shocks.

But even perfect instruments fail if they can’t reach people. That’s why the forum repeatedly returned to farmer organizations and cooperatives as necessary partners to get transparent, targeted finance to youth and women and others who aren’t part of formal banking.

As a youth delegate with Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), I know other young people like me don’t want charity; we want bankable pathways that match how we actually farm, trade and innovate.

Inside the FAO headquarters during discussions on climate finance and agrifood systems, surrounded by delegates. Photo by Edoardo Corriere

Policy coherence is not a buzzword; it’s a pipeline

During the forum, ministers and fund representatives were blunt: financing won’t scale on a project-by-project basis. Instead, countries need policy-based, budget-linked pipelines that align Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and sector policies to then show up in annual budgets.

Several people called for country platforms that convene those working across agriculture, and finance to set priorities, structure transactions and track financial results.

Announcements leading up to COP30 emerged as Brazil spotlighted its Ecological Transformation Plan and teased RAIZ (Resilient Agriculture Implementation for net-zero land degradation). Others pointed to Paris Agreement Article 6.8 (non-market approaches) as a potential channel for agriculture and food systems. We must treat agriculture and food systems as central issues within climate policy to meet the UNFCCC Global Goal on Adaptation, as well as goals arosss sustainable financing and loss-and-damage.

Build data systems that prove outcomes

One theme surprised many in the room: models aren’t enough. As an International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) expert argued, investors will finance agriculture when projected benefits are backed by grounded evidence. That requires minimum viable datasets for each value-chain actor, better farm-level monitoring and unique geo-IDs so financiers can verify who receives what, where and with what results.

For youth and community groups, this is a chance for community-run monitoring to document adaptation gains, soil and water outcomes and incomes without surrendering data sovereignty.

Indigenous leaders were crystal clear: we are actors, not beneficiaries. Finance should fund Indigenous-led data collection and respect governance over knowledge —“nothing about us without us.”

Regional realities matter

In small island states like Fiji, food security is both terrestrial and oceanic. Their case study tied agriculture financing to coastal health, culture and agri-tourism. Pastoral systems raised different concerns: a representative from the Horn of Africa noted that livestock is a central part of their economy, yet underfinanced.

Across regions, the message was the same: no one-size-fits-all. We must tailor financial instruments, invest in literacy and meet community needs.

Following the case studies, participants at the forum divided into breakout groups focusing on different key sub-themes related to climate finance. The main takeaway from the group debates I attended was that not all public support is helpful. We debated repurposing environmentally harmful subsidies and using tools like green budgeting or sovereign climate bonds to drive transformation.

This needs to be paired with social protections so reforms don’t punish the most vulnerable. Some countries shared promising governance stories: climate-tagged budgets, inter-ministerial climate committees and negotiated pacts that recycle revenues back into the sector to enable change.

A behind-the-scenes moment inside the FAO plenary hall, capturing the energy and focus as participants prepare for another session on climate and agrifood systems. Photo by Edoardo Corriere

Youth at the table

While attending, I was wearing two hats as I was representing both YPARD and YOUNGO, the Children and Youth Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. As youth constituencies, we are not neutral observers; many of us are farmers/ growers, agro-entrepreneurs or community organizers.

This vantage point sharpened our reading of the forum. When panelists talked about “access,” we thought of the application forms that often stall our work. When speakers praised insurance, we pictured payouts that arrive after debts are due. When they said “pipeline,” we saw the WhatsApp groups where youth compare notes on micro-loans and broken tractors.

Yet we also saw openings. The forum’s most pragmatic ideas — direct-access windows through cooperatives and local lenders, youth-focused readiness for proposal coaching and financial literacy, open sub-national tracking of who gets funded — came from a coalition of farmers, Indigenous leaders and youth who refused to accept business-as-usual.

These are not romantic slogans. They are implementable design choices.

Notable risks

Two risks kept surfacing – reporting fatigue and compliance. If financial requirements use corporate environmental, social governance (ESG) checklists, smallholders will walk away.

Additionally, in the rush to mobilize private capital, we may underinvest in public goods such as data, local infrastructure and affordable insurance, the things that make private investment viable in the first place.

The forum didn’t deny these tensions; it put them on the table.

The pathway forward

If readers take one message from this, let it be: access to finance is a problem of design, not a lack of money.

Here is one concrete pathway to finance smallholders that the forum’s discussions support:

De-risk and blend finance: back loans with backing guarantees with working capital, offer simple day-to-day cash loans and revenue-based finance for smallholders and bundle affordable crop/ weather insurance
Deliver through trusted organizations: contract farmer organizations, Indigenous institutions, local MFIs and savings groups with governance safeguards and age/gender-disaggregated reporting.
Align policy with money: anchor agrifood priorities in NDCs/NAPs and annual budgets via country platforms that include youth, farmers and Indigenous leaders.
Prove results locally: fund community-run monitoring, adopt geo-IDs and publish sub-national ledgers of agrifood climate finance.

As youth, we’ll keep pushing for change. And as one Indigenous youth leader reminded all at the forum, our metrics should include quality of life.

If climate finance can’t improve that for the people who grow our food, then it is not working, no matter how elegant the spreadsheets look.

Financing smallholder farmers is not charity. This is how we build resilient food systems that feed people, absorb economic and climate shocks and cut emissions.

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Vision Wall: 8th GLF Investment Case Symposium

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 13:36:37 +0000

The 8th GLF Investment Case

Most of humanity wants real, meaningful climate action. Now, it’s time to fund that change. At the 8th Investment Case, find out how we can redirect finance away from harmful practices and towards regenerative, community-led solutions.

We’re gathering at COP30– and opening the doors for you to join online – to ignite new investment strategies that benefit communities, nature and investors. Discover successful grassroots projects and join 5,000 changemakers in reshaping the future of finance.

Vision Wall

Vision Wall This visual harvest created by WCI Design, outlines the key insights shared during the 8th Investment Case. It reflects the audience’s contributions and lays out the themes that emerged around finance, equity, and more grounded approaches to landscape investment.

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Rio synergies in action: Strengthening integrated solutions for food systems transformation

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 11:17:22 +0000

GLF Climate 2025: A New Vision for Earth

Held live at COP30 and streaming globally, this isn’t just a conference for policymakers – it’s a vital platform to unite the majority for action, far beyond the negotiating rooms in Belém. GLF Climate blends science with Indigenous and local knowledge and brings youth and women’s perspectives to the forefront. Together, let’s forge a new vision for Earth and build a more just, equitable global movement for climate action.

About this session

This session explores key success factors for implementing and scaling integrated approaches in the context of agricultural and food system transformation, focusing on agroecology, climate-resilient agriculture and soil fertility management. It explores practical examples that demonstrate how climate action, biodiversity protection and sustainable land management can produce synergies that can transform food systems at national and subnational levels. Speakers include representatives from governments, civil society and the private sector, highlighting the pivotal role of women and youth as change agents in food system transformation.

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Accelerating sustainable landscape financing through national development banks

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:36:17 +0000

The 8th GLF Investment Case

We’re gathering at COP30 and opening the doors for you to join online – to ignite new investment strategies that benefit communities, nature and investors. Discover successful grassroots projects and join 5,000 changemakers in reshaping the future of finance.

About this session

Agriculture is the leading source of methane emissions and biodiversity loss worldwide. National development banks (NDBs), as the main providers of credit to the agriculture sector, have a pivotal role in reversing this trend by embedding nature-positive and climate-smart standards into their operations. This session will explore challenges, opportunities, and innovative solutions to align NDB portfolios with sustainable landscape goals. It will highlight how NDBs and subnational actors can mobilize finance, de-risk green investments and accelerate the transition toward resilient, low-emission and biodiversity-positive agricultural systems. Drawing on experiences from the Luxembourg–GGGI Global Trust Fund on Sustainable Finance Instruments, it will showcase innovative approaches to align sustainable finance, policy, and digital innovation to scale biodiversity-positive and methane-smart landscapes.

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Voices from 178 countries demand action at COP30 climate summit

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 21:44:51 +0000

Over 10,000 participants join COP30 side event online from around the world to demand urgent, integrated action that tackles climate, biodiversity and land challenges together
GLF Climate 2025 showcases how Indigenous Peoples, local communities, youth and Global South leaders are leading real climate action by restoring forests, revitalizing rangelands and transforming food systems.

Belém, Brazil (18 November 2025) – At the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) highlighted how Indigenous Peoples, local communities, youth and Global South leaders are driving climate, biodiversity and land solutions. Over 10,100 participants attended GLF Climate 2025: A New Vision for Earth online from 178 countries, joining hundreds more at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

“Enough with the talk – now we need action, implementation and adaptation” was the message from communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. From the ground across the globe, these stewards are calling for urgent, concrete steps to protect landscapes, livelihoods and the climate.

Participants emphasized that climate, biodiversity and land challenges must be addressed together to safeguard ecosystems while strengthening resilience. This means bringing together agroecology, circular bioeconomies, climate-resilient farming, community-led adaptation practices and other innovative solutions.

Voices at GLF Climate 2025

“I think we are much more attracted to bad news than to good news. If we look carefully, there are going to be a lot of good solutions coming up. Maybe not perfect, but we can fix them, we can improve them and it will be a new start.” – Marielos Peña Claros, Co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) and Professor of Ecology of Tropical Managed Rainforests at Wageningen University.

“Young people in our program feel really distant from [climate negotiations] processes because their voices don’t get heard. They don’t know what the Convention on Biological Diversity or COP30 are, or why they’re important. But they are the people leading restoration initiatives, agroecology initiatives, pollinator conservation and community-based research. So, we need to integrate local action into these political strategies and the Rio Conventions and institutionalize youth participation beyond symbolic inclusions.” – Ysabel Calderón, Founder of Sumak Kawsay and 2023 GLF Mountain Restoration Steward.

“We’ve seen a lot of calls at this COP on trying to better align the three [Rio Conventions] agenda under a common framework. But how do we achieve that in practice? That’s where I think the landscape approach has the solution for us. It’s looking at the scale of the territory, at the whole area of management, beyond the individual site, forests and rivers, and instead looking at the mosaic of land use and users that are all interacting with each other.” – Alain du Cap, Senior Policy Advisor, Environment and Climate Partnerships, Global Affairs Canada.

“To get to those big solutions, whether they’re scientific, legal or multilateral, I think we need to really ask: do we have a global stocktake of where we are in terms of climate negotiations? I don’t think we are doing a good global stocktake of all the people working on climate change, but in different ways. And for some reason, the issue keeps getting worse. We need a stocktake of what solutions are succeeding and what aren’t.” – Ayisha Siddiqa, Founder and Executive Director, Future Generations Tribunal

“The Global Landscapes Forum has stood alongside the Climate COP since 2013 in Warsaw. But this COP, here in Belém, feels different. A COP shaped not only by negotiations but by the voices of the Amazon, of Latin America, and of communities across the Global South who are leading action, not waiting for it. And once again, it is clear: we cannot solve climate, biodiversity and land degradation in silos. They are deeply interconnected just as Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists and local communities have reminded us for generations.” – Kamal Prawiranegara, Director, Global Landscapes Forum.

Bringing COP30 to the world At 10 GLF Climate 2025 watch parties, led by GLFx chapters from the island of Sumatra to the Himalayas, Lake Victoria and the Andes, participants followed the GLF Climate discussions online and organized their own side activities, including storytelling sessions, children’s workshops, tree planting, bird watching and more.

Meanwhile, 160 people gathered at a satellite event led by the GLF in Lima, Peru, streaming the event and developing their own sessions and discussions, including a cultural and networking evening.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Find photos from GLF Climate 2025 on our Flickr
Explore more press materials about the GLF at COP30 in our Media Room
For more information, schedule interviews or obtain expert commentaries, contact Kelly Quintero (k.quintero@cifor-icraf.org)

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