The Global Landscapes Forum event Restore the Earth took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on 28 September, at the close of Climate Week NYC 2019. Almost 800 participants registered for the Forum. They were selected from 2,545 applications. The event reached a further 131 million people through news media and over 25 million people on social media.
The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) was founded in 2013 by the World Bank, UN Environment and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). It has since evolved rapidly into a global partnership of some of the largest and most active organizations engaged in restoring sustainable landscapes. Through the hundreds of events that the GLF has organized since its inception, it has connected 4,900 organizations and 190,000 participants from all around the world. As the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, the GLF fosters dialogue between scientists and experts from universities, the public and private sectors, governments, and activist groups. It hosted many of the conversations that eventually gave rise to the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and has since taken a critical role in the initiative. The declaration of the U.N. Decade and the need to devise pathways to fulfill its potential were the key motivations behind the GLF event in New York. Overall, 40 organizations shaped the agenda as session hosts and speakers. The event provided a wide array of sessions and inspirational talks. The day’s events were streamed live from the U.N. Headquarters and incorporated interactive digital tools and knowledge products.
The central objectives of the conference included: holding structured consultations with key stakeholders on the Decade; raising awareness of the particular opportunities of and obstacles to ecosystem restoration at scale; generating support from public and private sector actors; exploring new, non-traditional partnerships for the Decade; and deepening existing restoration initiatives.
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