A Q&A with Peter Holmgren, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

Why hold a Global Landscapes Forum?

We thought that one of the biggest gaps in the whole development discourse is, how do we find the finance that needs to be invested in fair and equitable ways to achieve all the things we need to achieve on the ground?

What is the case for investment?

The development frameworks that we see emerging now – both the Agenda 2030 with its Sustainable Development Goals and also the Paris Agreement on climate change – they both call for engagement of the finance sector.

What do you mean by ‘landscapes’?

I think there is a point not to define it too strongly or too clearly, because when we talk about landscapes, we talk about all the activities, all the small businesses, all the different sectors that are active on the ground. It’s forestry, it’s farming, it’s fisheries, it’s many other things. And we don’t want to separate them, we want to talk about them together. That’s why we talk about landscapes.

What needs to be done?

Many of the Sustainable Development Goals will have to be achieved in the landscapes, whether we’re talking about reducing poverty, reducing hunger, improving food security, improving access to water, improving the way we protect nature.

What next?

I’d say that we can’t have conferences and discussions for the sake of having conferences and discussions. We also need to make sure that we move towards action on the ground. The ‘Dragon’s Den’ represents an opportunity to actually move ahead, to take action and to develop the investment opportunities.

The Forum brought together experts from the financial services industry with leaders from the corporate sector, government and academia to take investments into sustainable landscapes to the next level. This second edition of the event offered a unique platform for experts to explore the role of private finance in enhancing livelihoods and landscapes across the globe.

For more information on the Forum, click here.

To learn more about CIFOR, click here.