GLF Forests 2025: Agenda

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Registration will be open until 17:00

The world’s forests stand at a crossroads. Rising global temperatures, deforestation and unsustainable land use threaten both biodiversity and the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people who depend on forests for survival. However, in the heart of these landscapes, communities are leading the charge for restoration, implementing innovative, locally-driven solutions. From the Andes and the Amazonian Basin to the Guinea forests of West Africa and Southeast Asia’s island forests, grassroots organizations are reviving ecosystems and strengthening social fabrics.
Faced with climate-related challenges such as water shortages, they’re integrating restoration with food security, economic empowerment and climate resilience through agroforestry, wildlife conservation and food–forest approaches. This session will highlight the transformative efforts of GLFx chapters and Restoration Stewards working with forest-dependent communities to restore landscapes and redefine the future of forests.

With just five years left to meet global deforestation targets, governments must take bold action immediately. This session will share the 2030 Global Forest Vision: Priority Actions for Governments in 2025, a new agenda developed by a coalition of civil society organizations that outlines eight transformative actions to halt and reverse forest loss. From finance to governance and land rights to debt reform and beyond, these recommendations offer a concrete strategy to align ambition with reality. Join us to discuss the unique opportunity for governments to deliver on their commitments to protect and restore forests – and the dire consequences if they fail.

Knowledge Products:

• https://forestdeclaration.org/vision/
• https://forestdeclaration.org/resources/transforming-forest-finance/
• https://wwf.panda.org/?11884966/
• https://wwf.panda.org/?12179941/Report-Integrating-Deforestation-and-Conversion-Free-Supply-Chains-into-NBSAPs
• https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?12663966/Raising-the-bar-Strengthening-forest-ambition-in-Nationally-Determined-Contributions-NDCs

Join us for a thrilling virtual expedition on the GLF Forests World Tour. Travel across Africa, Asia, and Latin America & the Caribbean, exploring the rich and diverse ecosystems of forests. Meet passionate stewards working to restore and protect these vital landscapes. Together, let’s champion the preservation of forests – and discover what it will take to save them before it’s too late.

Forests play a vital role in maintaining the health of our planet, but they face unprecedented challenges. In the opening plenary, discover why the next decade is crucial for protecting and restoring forests, and how international finance, policy and local action can come together to drive meaningful change. Explore how to align global goals with local solutions, ensuring that forest management and restoration efforts are both effective and sustainable. Join us to hear from policymakers, forest experts, youth leaders and financiers who are actively shaping the future of forests to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Despite bold pledges from world leaders, deforestation is continuing unabated. This session will distill key lessons from a decade of REDD+ implementation to guide the next phase of forest action, policy and finance. Drawing on insights emerging from science-based evidence, we will explore the critical need for coordinated, multi-level policy frameworks, improved forest monitoring and stronger governance, equity and participation. Join us to find out what needs to change to make the next decade count.

Join us for a thrilling virtual expedition across the Global South at GLF Forests. Travel across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, exploring the rich and diverse ecosystems of their forests. Meet passionate stewards working to restore and protect these vital landscapes. Together, let’s champion the preservation of forests – and discover what it will take to save them before it’s too late.

In a world facing rapid and unpredictable changes due to the climate and biodiversity crises, resilience has become a crucial policy focus. Forests and trees contribute significantly to social and economic resilience by providing emergency safety nets, employment, income, essential products, protection against extreme weather and spaces for physical and mental well-being.
In this session, discover the findings from a global scientific assessment on forests for social and economic resilience by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) in the frame of the CPF’s Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative.

Wetlands, including peatlands and mangroves occupy 3 percent of the earth’s surface but contain more than 30 percent of global soil carbon. However, they are currently under extensive pressure of economic development. Globally, only about 17% of peatlands are located within protected areas – significantly lower than mangroves, resulting about 12% of peatlands are currently drained and degraded, contributing to 4% of annual global human-induced GHG emissions. Multi-stakeholders actions in the next decade are needed to sustain the future of these unique and yet vulnerable ecosystems. Failure to address mounting threats to wetlands will jeopardize critical climate targets and exacerbate biodiversity loss.

Forests are so much more than trees. We know biodiverse forest ecosystems are inherently valuable for all life on Earth, but it is not always clear how humans can sustainably use these resources or how their value should be reflected in management and policy. A new partnership is working to answer these questions by generating evidence and tools that support the sustainable, equitable and safe use of wild species. Join us in this session to learn how the Sustainable Use of Wild Species Transformative Partnership Platform (SU-TPP) is working to secure a vibrant, biodiverse future for forests – beyond trees.

Forests are a key nature-based solution to climate change and biodiversity loss, but their ability to thrive depends on sustainable management, informed by both science and traditional knowledge. This digital forum will bring together diverse partnerships and initiatives from the International Model Forest Network (IMFN) and beyond to reimagine the future of forests in a rapidly-changing environment, highlighting IMFN’s Model Forests as living laboratories for integrated and participatory forest management. It will showcase concrete solutions, share lessons learned and explore how these strategies can be adapted and scaled globally, focusing on partnership approaches to forest and landscape restoration. From the importance of shared landscape level governance to links with climate and biodiversity policy, this forum will explore practical strategies for sustainable forest landscapes.

Enjoy a delicious lunch break! At the registration desk, you’ll receive a lunch voucher redeemable for a delicious lunch pack, including a sandwich, snack, and drink. Simply present your event attendance badge to claim your voucher. Take a break, enjoy your meal, and connect with other attendees.

Digital tools have become a game changer for forests in the Congo Basin. The use of remote sensing for mapping has evolved, offering new perspectives for sustainable management. Despite these efforts and others, countries in the Congo Basin have not yet fully harnessed the potential of digital technologies, unlike Brazil in the Amazon, which has effectively used such tools for forest monitoring and management. This 45-minute session aims to review current trends in the use of digital tools for forest assessment and management and to explore the transformational approaches needed over the next decade.

The forests of the Congo Basin absorb about 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year, making them vital ecosystems to protect, restore and sustainably manage. However, Central Africa remains the tropical forest sub-region that attracts the least international funding for forests, climate and the environment in general. The session aims to place the cause of the Congo Basin on the international scene, promote financing for the conservation of the Congo Basin forests and biodiversity, mobilize support from partners and spark debates between scientists and politicians to mobilize financial resources through innovative financing mechanisms.

In Indonesia, smallholders manage over 40% of the country’s oil palm land—but many face declining yields due to aging trees. Replanting is essential but costly. Without access to affordable finance, some farmers may resort to expanding into rainforest areas, accelerating deforestation and climate change.
This short video introduces the Climate Smart Fund, a blended finance initiative tackling both environmental and economic challenges. Program Director Elin Ersdal and Team Leader Hans Smit explain how long-term capital, training, and sustainability certification are helping smallholders replant responsibly—protecting forests while supporting rural livelihoods.

Join us for a thrilling virtual expedition on the GLF Forests World Tour. Travel across Africa, Asia, and Latin America & the Caribbean, exploring the rich and diverse ecosystems of forests. Meet passionate stewards working to restore and protect these vital landscapes. Together, let’s champion the preservation of forests – and discover what it will take to save them before it’s too late.

The next decade will be a defining moment for global forests. Across the world, it is the communities who live closest to the land who are leading the way—restoring ecosystems, protecting biodiversity, and shaping a better future. Hear from GLF Restoration Stewards and GLFx Chapters from across the globe on what they think are actions that need to be taken to safeguard our precious forests.

As we look toward the next decade, the closing plenary will focus on the urgent actions needed to protect and sustainably manage forests. Find out how leading actors from Brazil will shape the forest agenda at COP30 and beyond, laying out priorities, key commitments and collaborations required to safeguard forests and people. Policymakers, experts, Indigenous leaders and practitioners will outline the critical next steps for forest research, finance, policy and locally-led action to drive impactful, lasting and sustainable change for forests and people.

Drops of Hope follows the inspiring leadership of Mama Chuputu and fellow Malawian farmers as they respond to land degradation and erratic rainfall caused by the climate crisis. Teaming up with the GLFx Lilongwe chapter, they embrace water harvesting, soil restoration and climate-smart agriculture through community learning and demonstration farms. This story captures how knowledge is shared, how resilience is nurtured and how a deep sense of collective ownership is restoring both livelihoods and the land – with every step forward sowing seeds of hope.

Join us for the evening reception of the GLF Forests 2025. Network with colleagues from a variety of organizations and backgrounds, enjoy refreshments and celebrate the day with music and dancing