Protect faster. Restore stronger. Manage better.

Reflecting on achievements for forests since the 2021 Paris Global Forest Summit, the opening will draw perspectives on the current situation and years to come. This civil-society led initiative, designed as a multi-stakeholder platform of advocacy and accountability for forests, will operate as a global landmark. Reforest’Action and the Open Diplomacy Institute will run this yearly Summit until the end of the UN Decade for Ecosystems Restoration and tell you why: putting forests on top of the agenda to make sure we keep gaining momentum in combating deforestation, enhancing forests restoration, fostering sustainable management of forests and financial commitments to meet all these targets. This is the objective of the official opening of the 2022 Brussels Global Forest Summit.

Welcome Remarks: Stéphane Hallaire, Founder & President of Reforest’Action

Official Address: Dr. Susan Gardner, Director of UNEP’s Ecosystems Division

Keynote Speech: Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace

Moderator: Thomas Friang, Founder & CEO of the Open Diplomacy Institute

2021 was supposed to be the « super year for nature » with the 3 Rio COPs in a row. The Global Forest Summit was launched that year to catalyze these negotiations on climate, biodiversity and desertification with a strong focus on forest protection and restoration.

But 2021 turned out to be quite deceptive: both the UNCCD COP and the UNCBD COP were postponed. The recent review of the objectives of the 2014 New York Declaration, the slow progress towards achievement of the Bonn Challenge, the need to accelerate implementation of the UN Global Forest Goals and the lack of data to monitor some of these goals… red flags are popping-up on all sides!

Nevertheless, the IUCN World Congress in September in Marseille saw the adoption of a resolution to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025, and the UNFCCC COP 26 in Glasgow announced a Declaration on Forest and Land Use, committing 141 countries which cover 90% of forests' global surface. While deforestation remains a strong concern and quality reforestation keeps slow, how can we turn this hope rising into fulfilled promises on the ground? How can we keep gaining momentum and achieve what is needed with respect to forest sustainable management principles?

At the beginning of 2022 the agenda related to nature, biodiversity and climate change is again taking shape. As we look forward to the UNFCCC COP 27 in Egypt, the preparatory process for the UNCBD COP 15 restarted, the UNCCD COP is planned for May 2022 in Abidjan… and the UN Forum on Forests’s political session will equally take place in May. The 2022 Global Forest Summit paves the way for these next steps. It is thus very timely to make sure further political action and impact on the ground does materialise for forests.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA, Former UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit and Former Rwanda’s Minister for Agriculture

Panel discussion:

• Ambassador Nick Bridge, UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change
• Dr. Musonda Mumba, Director of the UNDP’s Rome Center for Sustainable Development and former chair of the GPFLR
• Virginijus Sinkevicius, European Commissioner for the Environment
• Dr. Jonathan Woetzel, Senior Partner, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute
• Chris Zink, Managing Director for Natural Climate Solutions Fund at Conservation International

Insight by a Project Leader: Zulkifli Nasution, Funder of Yakopi (Indonesia)

Concluding remarks: Dr. Kathy MacKinnon, Emeritus Chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN)

Moderator: Thomas Friang, Founder & CEO of the Open Diplomacy Institute

Humanity is responsible for major degradation of ecosystems: this is what the anthropocene means. At the same time, human beings are standing alone to confront their responsibility in addressing the impact of their economies and societies to live on Earth. This comes down to a philosophical change of our species's relationship with others. Preventing climate catastrophes and massive biodiversity loss needs us to change. Adapting to the hazardous era in which we are rushing into also requires us to question ourselves. Forest policies are the reflection - on the ground - of this profound change that must come from us. The 2022 Global Forest Summit will discuss the ethical and ecological order we need to invent to find peace with Nature and thus ourselves.

Roll out :

• Nicolas Blain, Director for Institutional Relations of Reforest’Action
• Pr. Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Chief Sustainability Officer of CNES

• Dr. Robert Nasi, Director-general of CIFOR and Managing-Director of CIFOR-ICRA

Moderator: Thomas Friang, CEO & Founder, Open Diplomacy Institute

In June 2022, the United Nations will convene again in Stockholm, half a century after 113 states adopted the “Stockholm Declaration on the Environment”. Its 24th recommendation determined the global forest protection agenda. It called on the FAO and other multilateral agencies to ensure that global trade conventions and national land-use policies were aligned with the purpose of forest protection. However, 50 years on, we still face major economic questions to sustain forest protection and restoration.

Which innovative approaches need to be adopted to accelerate the fight against deforestation across global supply chains by employing an extensive accountability policy without fueling trade wars? How can we ensure land-use policies operate with meaningful economic incentives to avoid deforestation and to boost reforestation? Which are the harmful direct or indirect subsidies we need to stop to ensure that we can achieve SDG 15? Beyond the intrinsic value of forests, which means that we must protect them, can we expect an economic return on ecosystem services at some point, as forests represent major assets for our natural capital? Is this the way towards a circular bioeconomy on the road to Stockholm + 50?

The 2022 Global Forest Summit marks the 50th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference which laid the foundation for all scientific and political global governance processes of the environment. It is, therefore, the right time to stress the need for bolder and faster ambitions for forests as our current economic paradigm brings us closer to realizing all of the risks that the Stockholm Declaration pointed out.

Keynote Speaker: Pr. Naoko Ishii, Professor and Executive Vice-president of Tokyo University, Inaugural Director of the Center for Global Commons, Former Chair and CEO of the GEF, Former Japan’s Deputy Vice-minister for Finance

Panel discussion:

• Ester Asin, Director of WWF’s European Policy Office
• Pr. Edward Barbier, University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University, Author of Economics for a fragile planet
• Michel Driessen, CEO of Verstegen
• Elizabeth Gulugulu, Global Focal Point of the UNFCCC Youth Constituency (YOUNGO)
• Lynette Thorstensen, Chair of the Board of Fair Trade International

Insight by a Project Leader: Saurav Malhotra, Co-Founder and Designer of the Rural Futures innovation at the Balipara Foundation (India)

Concluding remarks: Sir Robert Watson, Professor Emeritus at East Anglia University, former Chair of the IPCC and IPBES

Moderator: Thomas Friang, Founder & CEO of the Open Diplomacy Institute

Combating deforestation forcefully, restoring forests as per global best practices, developing a more sustainable economy rapidly… This is all part of our race to stop climate disruptions. Forests are major assets for our mitigation capabilities as they can help to capture more than a third of our greenhouse gas emissions. They also play a key role in our adaptation solutions, as they prevent dangerous soil erosion and massive floods from happening. Protecting, restoring and managing forests is a must in all serious climate roadmaps. We will discuss the climate and forest nexus in this special talk of the 2022 Global Forest Summit.

Introduction: Rod Taylor, Global Forests Director of the World Resources Institute

Discussion between:

• John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
• Stéphane Hallaire, Founder & President of Reforest’Action

Moderator: Thomas Friang, Founder & CEO of the Open Diplomacy Institute

The 1992 Rio Earth Summit’s outcomes were not only the 3 main UN Conventions for the environment - Climate, Biodiversity and Desertification -; it also encompassed the Rio Forest Principles, a fully-fledged approach for sustainable management of forests.

These principles have been enhanced by intentional many foras: the IUCN has contributed to the emergence of the Forest and Landscape Restoration Principles; the Kew Garden announced their 10 Golden Rules; the International Society for Ecological Restoration outlined a second edition of its principles and standards; the UN Decade for Ecosystems Restoration aims to roll out standards in line with its international principles… While the corpus of doctrine is growing, we need to make sure that real changes are made on the ground for the sake of meaningful afforestation, reforestation and restoration programs, as well as effective sustainable management practices.

Rushing into massive tree planting actions, which would not embed these best practices, risks going into the wrong direction : instead of bridging the gap with the objectives of the New York Declaration or the Bonn Challenge, it would fuel the climate crisis and a 6th mass extinction. We need to focus on growing and protecting forests so that we can help them adapt and be more resilient to climate change consequences. This path - which needs to shape action and share benefits with local and indigenous communities - is also the one towards sustainable forest management, responsible exploitation and consumption models.

The 2022 Global Forest Summit marks the 30th anniversary of the Earth Summit; as such, it is the right time to highlight that these sets of enhanced principles are of the utmost importance to guide ambitious and rapid delivery of the UN Global Forest Goals.

Keynote Speaker: Adriana Vidal, Chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration and Senior Advisor at IUCN

Panel discussion:

• Dr. Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, Director of Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests and Former Benin’s Minister for the Environment
• Stéphane Hallaire, Founder & CEO of Reforest’Action
• Kim Carstensen, Director-General of the Forest Stewardship Council
• Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Founder of AFPAT and SDG Advocate
• Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca

Insight by a Project Leader: Anthony Mills, Chair, C4 Ecosolutions (South Africa)

Concluding remarks: Dr. Izabella Teixeira, Co-chair of the UNEP’s International Resources Panel and former Brazil’s Minister for the Environment

Moderator: Thomas Friang, Founder & CEO of the Open Diplomacy Institute

The official closing of the 2022 Global Forest Summit will wrap up the whole reflection upon combating deforestation, fostering quality forest restoration, developing sustainable management of forests and financing all these efforts to meet the UN Global Forest Goals and the objectives of the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests. This special session will highlight how these four objectives lead us to the development of a circular bioeconomy which helps to figure out a broader change in future economics.

Keynote Speech: José Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, Coordinator of the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA)

Concluding Discussion:

• Stéphane Hallaire, Founder & President of Reforest’Action
• Dr. Marc Palahi, Director of the European Forest Institute and Chair of the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance
• Dr. Tiina Vahanen, Deputy Director of the Forestry Department of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Closing Address: H.R.H. Charles, Prince of Wales

Moderator: Thomas Friang, Founder & CEO of the Open Diplomacy Institute