Global Landscapes Forum New York 2019: As it happened
On 28 September 2019, more than 400 people from 46 countries came together at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) event, Restore the Earth. Coming at the close of a historic Climate Week, in which cities around the world were rocked by climate strikes and policy makers acknowledging the urgency of the climate crisis, GLF’s event was marked by energy, enthusiasm, anger with the status quo and obligation to change it. The GLF stands at the forefront of the recently-announced UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Having facilitated many of the conversations that led to the Decade’s adoption by the UN General Assembly, GLF New York represented the most comprehensive exploration to date of the vast potential and practical implications of ecosystem restoration. The GLF New York 2019 Digital Edition was streamed live to over 9,800 people from 138 countries and #GLFNYC2019 gained 175 million impressions on social media.
We have to understand that nature conservation is not a luxury. We are dependent on nature, and the restoration of ecosystems has economic value. We must reach out to other sectors and mainstream biodiversity protection. Nature is not just about recreation and tourism, it’s about the sustainability of our future.
The scariest thing about agriculture is the sheer smallness of the number of people who know how to do it and the fact that the skills are not being transferred. Right now, we have an exodus and a big brain drain of farmers leaving the land.
My grandmother, who does not have a PhD in land restoration, is now being recognized by the IPCC because she is an expert on her land. So why can’t we move from saying ‘we need to be experts on this’ and go to those who have already been restoring for centuries, because those Indigenous peoples who don’t have PhDs know better how to sustainably restore their land.
With privilege and opportunity also comes responsibility. The science of climate change is clear, as is the increasing voice of the world’s youth. We need to listen to them. We need to act.
How many of us think consciously when we go to the supermarket? Let me talk about the Global North. What is implied by the products we are buying? Not only in terms of the environment, but also socially? What are we grabbing from the Global South? I think we need to start acting locally and increase collective responsibility and awareness.
Children all around the world are experiencing the effects of our climate crisis. Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have an inherent right to life. When children are experiencing floods, wildfires, heat waves, hurricanes that are disrupting their rights, then that is threatening their rights as children
We need to take action. Let’s do it. Let’s establish a committee with different sectors, regions and ages where we define an operational root for the decade on restoration, because we are running out of time
Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, because the next decade will be the critical decade. We hold in our hands this frightening responsibility to forever change the trajectory of our planet.
Event highlights
Take a look back on all of the GLF New York 2019 highlights, from inspiring video addresses to informative presentations
Climate Change X Street Art
Led by Greenpoint Innovations and its new art-focused initiative Greenpoint EARTH, in partnership with organizations including the Global Landscapes Forum, here are the city’s three new works of street art to see during Climate Week and beyond.
Organizations that engage with GLF
