This discussion forum will explore emerging technology innovation driven by open source software, blockchain, and other technologies that are being combined with new business incentive models to secure sustainable and more productive landscapes. The panel will feature practitioners from innovative cross-sector organizations that are addressing land tenure, forest supply chain, and environmental degradation challenges through the use of open-source distributed technologies, many of which also incorporate creative capital raising strategies and financial incentives.

The forum will include presentations and use cases on how open-source digital technology is being used to document, analyze, store, and share critical land and resource rights information. Panelists will discuss how permissioned blockchain technology is being used to to deliver efficiency and transparency to the green debt market in support of scaling the supply of, and investment in, credible green investment opportunities through cost-efficient and immutable verification of green impacts. Innovators will discuss how blockchain-based tokens and smart contracts (e.g., Bitcoin and Ethereum) can be used as tools by social ventures aimed at fostering sustainable landscapes.

Successful implementation of REDD+ depends not only on sufficient finance, but also on the right governance for transparent, accountable interaction. This session starts with an exploration of REDD+ finance flows from donor to recipient countries, identifying where they go and where not, analyzing what this means for decisions on REDD+ finance and its management, and drawing conclusions for further action.

Speakers

Asger Strange Olesen, Global Topic Lead on Land Use and the Bioeconomy, COWI A/S,  Kopenhagen, Denmark

  Deciding for REDD: Will donor finance turn the trend of deforestation?

Ellysar Baroudy, Lead Carbon Finance Specialist, World Bank, Washington, D.C.

 The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and the BioCarbon Fund

Panelists/discussants

Dharsono Hartono, President Director, PT Rimba Makmur Utama, Jakarta, Indonesia

Gabriel Labbate, Head UNREDD a.i., Senior Programme Officer, ONU Medio Ambiente – UN Environment. Oficina Regional para America Latina y el Caribe, Ciudad del Panama, Panama

Kaspar Wansleben, Managing Director, Forestry and Climate Change Fund

Moderator

Christopher Martius, Team Leader Climate Change, CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

This discussion forum will focus on practical examples of land tenure risk mitigation approaches from live investment cases, strengths/weaknesses of various approaches, and recommendations for removing tenure barriers to investment. The session will also feature the results of a new Investor Survey on Land Rights conducted by USAID and Indufor covering investors’ perceptions of land tenure risks, assessment approaches and mitigation strategies.

In previous editions of the Investment Case, land tenure risks are cited as a key obstacle to scaling-up restoration and agro-forestry investments. Our panel will aim to un-pack the types of land tenure risks and what can be done to proactively address them, based on feedback from investors, thus opening the possibility for broader action at the landscape level.