Collaborative Partnership on Forests

Primary forests

Primary forests

Strengthening the conservation of primary forests through enhanced partnerships and coordination of support

Lead agencies: GEF, IUCN, UNFF, FAO
Timeframe: 2024–2026
Contribution to the GFGs: 2, 4, 5 and 6

This initiative aims to elevate the importance of primary forest conservation in global discourse, influencing multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), policies, investment decisions, and reporting. The focus is on three key components:

  1. Increase global recognition and support for primary forests.
  2. Strengthen capacity development and information sharing on the value of primary forests.
  3. Promote resource mobilization for the conservation of primary forests by enhancing the work of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN).

The overarching objective of this project is to prioritize the conservation of tropical primary forests by raising their importance in global discussions, policies, and investment decisions. Coordination and information-sharing mechanisms will be established to engage donors, provide relevant data, and facilitate informed decision-making on financing for primary forest conservation. This will include a comprehensive mapping of donor commitments, frameworks, and instruments, along with a survey of global financing mechanisms available for channeling pledges to countries with primary forests.

Capacity development efforts will make information, tools, and scientific knowledge accessible to improve the understanding and capabilities of United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) members, increasing the visibility of primary forests in forest financing, future reporting, conservation and restoration initiatives, and the global policy agenda. The project will support the UNFF Secretariat in coordinating and reporting on the work and results of Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) members towards conserving primary forests, Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), and related developments such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and REDD+. This support will include enhancing the work of the GFFFN in the development and implementation of national forest finance strategies in countries with significant areas of primary forests.

The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) serves as the Implementing Agency, while the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat (UNFFS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are the executing agencies. External partners include Griffith University and the Wild Heritage Foundation.