FORESTS AS CAPITAL: Top-down and bottom-up finance approaches to conserve tropical forests
The dynamic landscape of tropical land use, deforestation, global governance, and economic development is pushing the need for evolution of the conservation toolbox. Complex financial mechanisms such as carbon markets, product certifications, mitigation banking, and supply chain management have valuable roles in tropical forest conservation, but remain difficult to access for many forest rights holders and advocates. At the same time, large scale commodity investment continues to threaten tropical forests and livelihoods.
The Yale Chapter of the International Society of Tropical Foresters (ISTF) is proud to announce the 20th Annual ISTF Conference at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, to be held on January 30, 2014– February 1, 2014. This year’s conference will discuss forest conservation in the context of the capital approach (top down) and the local approach (bottom up) of attracting financial resources for conservation and generating sustainable revenues from forest resources.
The keynote panel will include a video address by Christiana Figueres (UNFCCC) and a panel response from Isabel Hagbrink (World Bank FCPF Communications Director), Per Fredrik Ilsaas Pharo (Director, International Climate and Forest Initiative, Norway), Carlos Klink (Former Director of the Brazilian Amazon Initiative, IFC), and Michael Jenkins (President, Forest Trends). Finally, to celebrate 20 years of the ISTF Conference at Yale ISTF will launch its inaugural annual prize contest with the Forest Finance Innovation Prize (FFIP). The FFIP will provide a monetary prize to the group with the most innovative and applicable financial initiative that promotes forest conservation (see separate announcement for details). The conference’s topics will include:
- Capital approaches to conservation: how can large-scale investment from donors and forest investors be structured to maximize conservation value?
- What is the potential of the international forest carbon market versus local markets such as watershed services and mitigation banks?
- Local approaches to conservation: how can community conservation projects scale up to the landscape level, attract capital, and become financially sustainable?
- How can commodity markets (i.e., soy, beef, oil palm) be regulated or incentivized to reduce their impact on tropical forests?
To apply: Submissions of abstract / concept note based on either primary research or institutional experience are solicited from researchers and professionals in the field of tropical conservation. Abstract / concept note of 1/2 page should contain:
- Name(s) of the author(s), address, telephone, and e-mail of the corresponding author
- Title, concept note, and type of presentation (presentation or poster)
- Author affiliation(s)
Please submit electronic concept notes by Sunday, November 17, 2013 to: [email protected]
