São Paulo
26th February, 2021
Two leading international networks developing joint solutions to protect and restore tropical forests – the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) and the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force)— have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement will guide collective efforts and support the development of a common work plan that aims to increase the visibility and effectiveness of jurisdictional approaches to reduce deforestation driven by commodity production; improve dialogue and collaboration between members of the two networks; and support efforts to increase investments and foster jurisdictional supply agreements on a global and regional scale.
“TFA and the GCF Task Force already have a history of collaboration in events, workshops and dialogues”, comments Fabíola Zerbini, TFA director for Latin America. “The signing of this agreement enables the joint coordination of these actions and expands the possibilities of this collaboration, given that the two organizations have common goals, bringing together players from the public and private sectors, in addition to local communities, in the search for solutions that favor a positive future for forests”.
The Memorandum of Understanding establishes the immediate start of joint actions, including:
- The coordination of annual work plans for each country involved, seeking to identify synergies between the action strategies of TFA and GCF Task Force in Brazil, Peru and Indonesia;
- The identification of investment opportunities and the development of financing mechanisms for jurisdictional programs, seeking to attract alternatives for the contribution of resources and new partners;
- Sharing information to define a new framework for jurisdictional programs that include economic activities related, for example, to advance the bioeconomy and Payments for Environmental Services (PES).
Peru - Pilot Area
The Alto Huallaga area, located in San Martín region, is one of the main hubs of cocoa and palm oil production in Peru. The landscape will now connect zero-deforestation production commitments with concrete, landscape-level actions that will provide an initial focus for the agreement between TFA and GCF Task Force. The joint action of the two networks in Alto Huallaga will involve articulation with stakeholders to establish a shared vision of their territory, develop long-term public-private governance, establish performance-monitoring system, and advance knowledge management and the mobilization of resources for implementation instruments that generate concrete changes in land-use, forest conservation and restoration. Currently, with the support of USAID, TFA has begun to identify potential public-private alliances to develop a zero-deforestation supply chain in cocoa as part of this jurisdictional approach.
“It is necessary to have successful cases that demonstrate the possibility of moving from commitment to action”, says Fabiola Muñoz, coordinator of the Coalition for Sustainable Production in Peru. “The jurisdictional approach in Peru will be fundamental for us to go beyond the partial logic towards a concrete action that involves the landscape and the territory’s actors as a whole, and the partnership between TFA and GCF will be key to catalyze this process”.
About the GCF Task Force
The Governors' Climate & Forests (GCF) Task Force works to protect tropical forests, reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and promote realistic paths for rural development and forest maintenance. GCF promotes jurisdictional approaches to reduce deforestation and the development of low emissions through the subnational collaboration between 38 states and provinces in 10 countries worldwide.
About TFA
The Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) is a network that brings together multiple partners around the common goal of seeking and implementing solutions to tackle deforestation resulting from commercial activities in tropical forest areas. Hosted by the World Economic Forum, TFA works with government, private sector and civil society representatives, such as indigenous peoples and international organizations, to consolidate high-impact partnerships focused on reducing deforestation and creating a positive future for forests. The TFA network, through its partners, identifies challenges and develops solutions, bringing together experts from around the world to transform ideas into effective actions in Latin America, Africa, China and Southeast Asia.