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Dear reader,
As Fall colors light up here in Washington, I’m happy to share some updates from the PROGREEN team.
This time of year is always busy with happenings in the climate and environment space. But the momentum this Fall seems greater than in recent years. Last week, PROGREEN participated actively in the Global Landscapes Forum in Nairobi, together with our colleagues from the AGF-managed FOLUR program, as well as international partners like FAO and Cifor. Next week, global leaders will meet in Brazzaville for the Three Basin Summit and then activity immediately heats up in the lead-up to COP28 in Dubai later this year. We all hope that these convenings will deepen consensus on the need to invest in forests, woodlands, and landscapes - for a livable planet.
In this edition, we begin with an exciting update: We have launched an online course on integrated land use, which aims to equip policymakers, practitioners, and the layperson with the basics of integrated land use planning (think of it as a Landscapes 101!). Part one is now available via the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus.
I also want to call attention to a new discussion paper on scaling gender and climate investment opportunities, authored by Jeannette Gurung, executive director of WOCAN. Jeannette and WOCAN are critical partners to PROGREEN’s gender work, and are piloting the innovative “W+ Standard” in our Nepal country project. I hope you enjoy reading this new publication.
Thanks to Country teams for the input to the annual report, which will be published on the website in a month or so.
Kind regards,
Tim Brown,
Program Manager, PROGREEN
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Have you ever wondered how policymakers can best navigate the intricacies of diverse land uses, while ensuring a comprehensive vision for sustainable development?
PROGREEN and the Biocarbon Fund
Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes have partnered on the development
of the first online course in a World Bank-led learning initiative on integrated land use.
The two-part course, titled "Integrated Land-Use Initiatives: Theory and Practice," aims to equip landscape practitioners, policymakers, and the curious-minded with the basics of integrated land use planning.
Part one is now available for
enrollment on the Open Learning Campus.
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On October 11-12, PROGREEN co-sponsored the World Bank's "Landscapes for a Livable Planet" pavilion at the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Nairobi. In partnership with the FOLUR Impact Program, the World Bank pavilion served as an opportunity for the PROGREEN team to convene partners, share our latest knowledge products, and co-host side events.
The PROGREEN team organized a side event, titled "Unlocking Partnerships for Restoration: Insights from PROGREEN Landscape Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa," which presented learnings and best practices from three PROGREEN-supported landscapes programs in Rwanda, Ghana, and Ethiopia. The panel discussion explored how these projects engage communities, including vulnerable groups, and deliver impact. Bookending the presentations and panel discussion were opening remarks from Ulrika Akesson from the Swedish International Development Agency and closing reflections from Melyn Abisa from Youth4Nature. The side event also launched a new World Bank-led e-learning initiative on integrated land use planning.
At the link below, stay tuned for the event recording — and check out what Melyn Abisa had to say on the importance of including youth voices in conversations around landscape restoration.
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The Kazakhstan Resilient Landscape Restoration Project, funded by a US$2 million PROGREEN trust fund grant, has been approved by the Country Director on June 14, 2023, pending government signature. Its objective is to pilot community-centered agroforestry practices and strengthen government capacity for landscape management and restoration in protected areas. With a focus on nature-based tourism and biodiversity preservation in the Aksu-Zhabagly, Karatau, and Sayram-Ugamskiy nature reserves, this project aims to revitalize landscapes, promote sustainable development, and empower local communities. The project will benefit from early insights gained from the Global Environment Facility project and will be implemented by the Forests and Wildlife Committee over a 5-year period. | | |
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The World Bank team’s work on sustainability-linked sovereign bonds (supported by PROGREEN) continues to gain attention and have impact in the market. One of the main deliverables during the year was the amendment of the International Capital Markets (ICMA) Sustainability-linked Bond Principles (SLBP) to explicitly recognize sovereign issuers. New metrics for sovereigns were added to the illustrative Key Performance Indicators (KPI) registry, including nature/ biodiversity indicators related to forestry.
The team continues to develop the framework for measuring the ambition and feasibility of sovereign KPIs – known as the FAB framework – which is being applied by a government in West Africa as the Ministry of Finance develops its own framework.
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Activist and 8billion mentor Aché Ahmat Moustapha.
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Aché Ahmat Moustapha has devoted her life to chronicling and sharing impactful stories from across the communities of Chad. Learn about her latest work empowering young filmmakers through the 8billion initiative, and hear her perspective on what makes cinema such an effective catalyst for climate action at scale.
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In the biodiverse-rich Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, traditional practices and extensive tobacco farming threaten both the environment and indigenous livelihoods. Amid challenges like rapid deforestation and land degradation, PROGREEN, in collaboration with the Arannayk Foundation, is charting a new course with an integrated land use plan. This initiative seeks to harmoniously balance ecological restoration with community development and climate resilience.
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Integrated Landscape Management Program for the Sustainable Development of the Gran Chaco and Yungas Regions in Argentina
Through the Integrated Landscape Management Approach, PROGREEN collaborates closely with the National Government of Argentina to catalyze vital investments in infrastructure and equipment. This initiative not only fosters capacity-building for public officials but also bolsters community-led projects that leverage environmental goods and services to enrich rural communities.
"Beyond the immediate impact, this approach is pioneering the generation of primary data essential for evidence-based decision-making," noted Pablo Herrera, the Senior Environmental Specialist for the World Bank in Argentina, in his address at the VIII Congreso Forestal Latinoamericano and V Congreso Forestal Argentino.
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Valuing Sustainable Protected Area Tourism and its Benefit to Local Communities | A webinar on Valuing Sustainable Protected Area Tourism and its Benefit to Local Communities was held in August 2023 to support the Government of Indonesia in its efforts to measure and strengthen the value | |
of protected areas. Indonesia's 28.3 million hectares of protected areas are a hotspot of biodiversity wealth and a major contributor to the country’s tourism sector. The team from the World Bank and the University of California, Davis, presented key findings and methodologies from the Banking on Protected Areas report. The event – attended by over 450 government participants – sought to inform participants about new valuation tools (LEWIE-lite) that can quantify the local economic benefits of protected area tourism and help inform investment and management decisions. The discussion noted that Indonesia has high potential for sustainable tourism – both marine and terrestrial - that could benefit local communities while protecting Indonesia’s biodiversity. This webinar is a part of “Evaluating and Realizing the Value of Nature in Indonesia”, a joint research initiative between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Finance, and the World Bank. | | |
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Integrating Nature into Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies | As the World Bank expands investments in climate finance, teams move quickly to prepare Country Climate Development Reports (CCDR) and prioritize the most impactful strategies for climate adaptation and mitigation. | |
Integrating nature into CCDRs can help countries identify cost-effective interventions to adapt to climate impacts and promote low-carbon development, while also providing development co-benefits to vulnerable households and communities. Over the last two years, the Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Landscape Assessment (BELA) initiative, supported by PROGREEN, has been working with a number of CCDR teams to demonstrate the role of nature in climate adaptation and mitigation plans. As part of the CCDR Webinar Series, BELA hosted a panel discussion with CCDR team leads to showcase concrete applications of the BELA approach in CCDRs for Malawi, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, and the DRC. | | |
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Armenia Forest Landscape Restoration Report Launch and Armenia RESILAND Project Consultation | Organized jointly by the Ministry of Environment of Armenia and the World Bank, the September 11, 2023 event with the participation of the government of Armenia | |
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agencies, civil society, and academia explored how better management of forests could offer Armenia significant economic returns and position the country as a champion of conservation and climate change adaptation and how more awareness among Armenians of the value of forests would help the country realize these returns.
The event launched a new report, Armenia: Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) Note (in English and in Armenian) The meeting was part of broader set of sustained joint efforts of the World Bank and the government of Armenia in supporting the country’s sustainable development goals and green economic transition. A Country Climate and Development Report, currently under development by the World Bank jointly with Government of Armenia, as well as GREEN Armenia Platform, and Armenia Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development Policy Operation are among the cooperative efforts to promote green transition, reduce GHG emissions, and boost climate adaptation.
The event received robust coverage in the media, with Armenia's leading news platforms, including the national TV covering the event and featuring an interview with Irina Ghaplanyan, Senior Climate Specialist, World Bank.
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BELA Co-Creates State-of-the-art Investment Prioritization Tool with Ethiopian Government | The BELA team hosted a virtual capacity development workshop on their Investment Prioritization Tool (IPT) for sustainable landscape management in Ethiopia. | |
The IPT combines data on land cover, land condition, climate, soils, and infrastructure, along with state-of-the-art spatial modeling approaches to prioritize areas for investments in sustainable land management programs optimizing cost-effectiveness and landscape-level benefits. The team will travel to Ethiopia next month to share the latest iterations and applications of the tool. This mission takes place as part of a broader series of virtual and in-person engagements with the Ethiopian government with the goals of developing capacity for developing investment prioritization tools that can support the government’s Payment for Results programs on sustainable land management. To learn more, look out for BELA’s Ethiopia Case Study which will be published later this calendar year. | |
Uzbekistan and the International Union for Conservation of Nature hosted a regional dialogue as part of the World Bank's Central Asia Resilient Landscape Restoration Program (RESILAND CA+). The event focused on policy and regulation for large-scale Nature-based solutions(NbS) deployment, strategies for addressing climate-induced natural disaster impacts and sharing NbS success stories from Central Asia and other regions. Representatives from government bodies, financial institutions, and civil society organizations explored the enabling factors that can unlock new NbS opportunities in Central Asia. Knowledge outputs from PROGREEN financing, such as Valuing Green Infrastructure: A Case Study of the Vakhsh River Basin, Tajikistan, were also presented during this dialogue to provide further evidence of the potential of NBS for resilient landscapes. Also, a PROGREEN-financed regional conference on transboundary. | |
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Scaling Gender and Climate Investment Opportunities
This report highlights women's essential role in climate action, advocating investments in rural women to achieve climate goals, reduce gender inequality, and poverty. It emphasizes the effectiveness of gender-responsive strategies in both protecting investments and improving environmental outcomes in projects involving women.
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Valuing Green Infrastructure: A Case Study of the Vakhsh River Basin, Tajikistan
The report explores landscape restoration to mitigate erosion's effects on hydropower, enhance agriculture, and livelihoods. The report covers sediment sources, suggests cost-effective restoration, and provides recommendations for the Vakhsh Basin and nationwide expansion.
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Armenia Forest Landscape Restoration Note
This report evaluates Armenia's forestry sector for landscape restoration opportunities, with findings contributing to the Armenia Integrated Resilient Landscape (RESILAND) Improvement Project. It was presented in an expert panel discussion with speakers from Armenia's Ministry of Environment, Forest Alliance, and American University.
Read the report in English and Armenian
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Mapping and Valuing Ecosystem Services for Sustainable Landscape Management in Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, poorly managed activities threaten ecosystems. Climate change worsens these threats. This report identifies drivers of degradation, assesses ecosystem value for sustainable development, and recommends essential investments for climate resilience.
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Reducing Wildfire Risk through Sustainable
Forest Management - Lebanon Forest Note
Lebanon's unique forest landscapes have historically offered numerous benefits, but societal changes and environmental pressures now threaten them. This note outlines opportunities for their protection and sustainable management amidst increasing stress from human activities, climate change, and forest fires.
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