Event Category: Partner Event

The development and uptake of renewable, circular solutions are essential for achieving the green transition – and a stronger reliance on bio-based products and materials is key to this.

Today, construction, food packaging, and industrial manufacturing are highly material-intensive sectors that must be transformed into circular and increasingly bio-based sectors.

The Bioregions Facility has adopted this vision. Its implementation requires us to bridge the knowledge-innovation divide, speed up the uptake of new solutions, and strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration. We are all in this together.

The Bioeconomy Innovation Day 2024, 5 June 2024, in Lemgo, North Rhine-Westphalia, will provide a unique platform for learning, sharing, and growing in this direction. The event will gather forest innovators and leaders from industry, government, research, and other key stakeholders in the forest bioeconomy.

Array ( [0] => Europe/Berlin )

As the global food, biodiversity, and climate crises begin to crunch, the fundamental role of forests in humanity’s future is increasingly difficult to deny. In June 2024, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) will gather its global network in Stockholm, Sweden; under this year’s theme, Forests & Society towards 2050, delegates will grapple with the drastic changes expected over the coming 25 years, and seek to share knowledge and co-create solutions for a sustainable future.

CIFOR-ICRAF is an organizational partner for the event and will be a co-host to IUFRO in Nairobi, Kenya in 2029. As a global leader using trees, forests, and agroforestry to address the greatest global challenges of our time, CIFOR-ICRAF is well-placed to contribute to these critical conversations with its cutting-edge research and decades of global experience.

Array ( [0] => Africa/Abidjan )

Since 2019, CIFOR-ICRAF and partners have been conducting research to help address intractable challenges in the trade of sustainable palm oil, coffee, and wildlife in Indonesia. This research, which has included studies on green trade initiatives to benefit forest landscapes and surrounding communities, was conducted under the Trade, Development, and the Environment Hub (TRADE Hub) – a global research consortium led by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP WCMC) and supported by the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI GCRF). Following five years of activities, this research will come to an end in March 2024.

The TRADE Hub research team in Indonesia has produced scientific publications, technical guidelines, and an Android-based game to disseminate its research findings. In addition to conducting conventional research, the team has implemented action research on the ground with CIFOR leading the facilitation of independent oil palm smallholders in Segati Village, Pelalawan Regency, Riau; and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with coffee smallholders in Lampung. The University of Indonesia has conducted further studies into sustainable financing, while IPB University has led capacity building activities for the science community and beyond. Other key publications have been on sustainable palm oil trade pathways from participatory science-policy interface activities implemented with key stakeholders in Indonesia, and a study into the online trade in songbirds in Indonesia.

Further information on TRADE Hub activities and outputs in Indonesia can be accessed at cifor.org/tradehub.

Objectives

The objectives of this closing event are to disseminate key results from TRADE Hub research and provide a platform for relevant stakeholders to share information and experiences on issues surrounding the use of landscape approaches in supporting sustainable palm oil, coffee, and wildlife trade in Indonesia.

 

Array ( [0] => Asia/Jakarta )

Transboundary haze is a widespread air pollution and smog that affects multiple countries and regions, including Southeast Asia (SEA). The issue of haze has transcended from being a regional concern to a global environmental crisis and is primarily caused by land clearing and peatland fires, causing severe environmental degradation, health hazards, and economic disruptions. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States (AMS) have taken several measures to tackle transboundary haze and promote regional cooperation to address the problem effectively. The key measures include the signing and ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), adoption of the Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation (2016-2020) and the ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy 2006-2020 (APMS), which specifically provided a framework of action to address peatland related haze issues.

A review commissioned to evaluate progress and experiences of the First (2016-2020) Roadmap implementation to achieve the vision of haze-free ASEAN has led to the development of a new roadmap.  In August 2023, the Second Roadmap on ASEAN Cooperation towards Transboundary Haze Pollution Control with Means of Implementation (Haze-Free Roadmap) (2023-2030) was adopted during the 18th Meeting of the Committee Under the Conference of the Parties to ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COM-18) and 18th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (COP-18). It consists of nine mutually reinforcing strategies.

The Second Roadmap synthesizes lessons learned, best practices, and innovative approaches, charting a course that amalgamates regional aspirations with actionable steps toward a haze-free future. Drawing on lessons learned from the implementation of the First Roadmap and considering the need to increase stakeholders’ awareness of the Second Roadmap, it is crucial to provide a platform for relevant actors to exchange of views on the Roadmap’s various strategies and actions for addressing transboundary haze issues. Such platforms enable relevant stakeholders to better understand differing perspectives on aspects such as policy and regulatory framework and law enforcement, sustainable land management practices, community engagement, innovative technologies etc. This can serve as the basis for creating effective policies and implementation.

To promote public awareness of the Second Roadmap and encourage participation of stakeholders in the implementation of strategies and actions, the ASEAN Secretariat together with MAHFSA Programme, is hosting a hybrid launch of the Second Roadmap and policy dialogue on 21 February 2024 in Jakarta. This event will consist of a half-day launch ceremony followed by a policy dialogue. The policy dialogue will highlight new elements of the Second ASEAN Haze-Free Roadmap and discuss the inextricably linked strategies and actions. The policy dialogue will explore the roles of both the public and private sectors in combating haze, while emphasizing the critical need for collaborative endeavors between these sectors. By fostering a dialogue that encompasses diverse viewpoints and stakeholder contributions, the event endeavors to pave the way for a more holistic and inclusive approach towards achieving a haze-free Southeast Asia.

Objectives

1. Highlight key elements of the Second ASEAN Haze-Free Roadmap
2. Stakeholders discuss perspectives on strategies and actions, and resources of the Second Roadmap, including the role of public and private sector and other institutions to tackle fires and haze in the region
3. Identify opportunities for collaboration and alignment
4. The Second Haze-Free Roadmap is launched and showcased

Contact person: Santi Darmokusumo, s.darmokusumo@cifor-icraf.org

Array ( [0] => Asia/Jakarta )

Background

Knowing that blue carbon ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes are capable of sequestering and storing more carbon than terrestrial forests, they have attracted global attention, notably in climate change mitigation and adaptation. As home of around 17% of global blue carbon stock, Indonesia has a great opportunity to conduct international trading of carbon credits from its coastal ecosystems.

To implement the Paris Agreement, Indonesia has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as outlined in its nationally determined contribution (NDC). Presidential Regulation No. 98/2021 on Implementation of Carbon Economic Value (NEK) was enacted to help the country achieve its emissions reduction targets. This was followed by Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 21/2022 on Technical Guidelines for Indonesia Emissions Reduction Certification (SPEI). In addition, the Government of Indonesia has launched the Indonesia Carbon Exchange (IDXCarbon) to provide markets for trading of carbon credits to accelerate carbon emission reduction, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 or earlier.

Stakeholders, including non-state actors, private sector, business and coastal communities, are interested in taking the opportunities to invest and develop blue carbon projects in Indonesia – the largest host of mangroves in the world. However, they have yet to understand how SPEI, NEK and IDXCarbon will be operationalized and enable them to participate in blue carbon projects. This will eventually speed up the process to achieve country’s net zero emissions (NZE) in 2060 or earlier.

The CIFOR-ICRAF Transformative Partnership Platform: Blue Carbon Deck team, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, IPB University, the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI), and Indonesian Mangrove Society (IMS) organizes an open dialogue as a platform to facilitate exchange knowledge and experiences. It is expected that the challenges and barriers to implement projects on the ground may be removed and multi-stakeholder partnerships are promoted.

Objectives

• Promote the role of Blue Carbon Deck as the platform for mutually beneficial partnership among actors interested in managing blue carbon ecosystems;
• Familiarize with the mechanisms and procedures of blue carbon project development, with particular attention to policy, regulatory framework and methodologies;
• Explore the investment and business opportunities leading to the blue carbon credit trading mechanism in Indonesia; taking into account the national commitments and agenda.

This event will be held bilingually in Indonesian and English with simultaneous translation.

For in-person attendance (by RSVP), please contact Phidju Sagala, p.sagala@cifor-icraf.org.

Array ( [0] => Asia/Jakarta )

As the world’s top decision-making body on the environment, UNEA aims to help restore harmony between humanity and nature, improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people.

UNEA-6 will focus on how multilateralism can help tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Backed by strong science, political resolve and engagement with society, the Assembly will be an opportunity for world governments, civil society groups, the scientific community and the private sector to shape the global environmental policy.

As the planet’s only universal membership forum for the environment, UNEA provides a unique platform for courageous decisions and new ideas to chart a bold plan of collective environmental action. In so doing, UNEA-6 will support the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

UNEA-6 will be preceded by a meeting of the Open-ended Committee of Permanent Representatives, which will help lay the groundwork for the Assembly.

Array ( [0] => Africa/Abidjan )