Rethinking how we Finance Forest Landscapes with Tony Simons

Show notesJoin me today, where I speak to Tony Simons, Senior Fellow of UNCCD G20 Initiative and CIFOR/ICRAF. His wealth of experience shines through in this conversation, where he describes the Managalas project, in Papua New Guinea, a country with more than 90% forest cover where 97% of the land is community held. The project truly connects how conservation meets community needs. Though carbon is a piece of the puzzle, Tony explains how valuing such a project on carbon alone is a false representation of the value these forests deliver. We discuss the financing mechanism and multi-stakeholder involvement behind this project and much more. QuotesAnd so the big problem for forest conservation is that forests and forest protection has been equated to carbon and it's so wrong. I mean, we would not allow it or stand for it in any other sector or domain.We want the benefits from forestry at a local level for the communities at a national level in terms of sovereignty and responsibility and at a global level. And we've just hidden those benefits from humanity. And if we really value forests and we think, well, you know, forests were these things created 380 million years ago when CO2 was 4000 parts per million, 10 times what it is today. And it brought down the world's temperature by 10 degrees. Important linksTony Simons LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-simons-359b09b/Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF): https://www.cifor-icraf.org/Global Canopy: https://globalcanopy.org/The Managalas Project: https://themanagalasproject.com/Favourite trees: Guaiacum sanctum, Mangifera indica (mango tree), Quercus robur (oak tree)Production teamHost: Shauna Matkovich from The ForestLinkProducer and editor: Magdalena Laas from Unscripted CreativesDetails02:03Overview - Tony's background 05:30Greenwashing evolution12:56Papua New Guinea Managalas Project17:50Financial stakeholders - approvers, enablers, and implementers22:38Fungible value and non-fungible aspects of the project27:08Rules of engagement - corporations and communities33:31Local community trust - carbon markets - partners/funders - revenue stream38:19What's in it for corporates funding the project?43:00Key successes of the project & lessons shared 45:49Importance of land use planning & management49:00Actionable forestry investment adviceSound libraryNature by MaxKoMusic/SoundcloudSopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/SoundcloudSign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.