The first Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) convened on Saturday and Sunday, 16 and 17 November 2013, at the University of Warsaw in Poland, on the sidelines of the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The event brought together more than 1200 participants in Warsaw, with an additional 1500 joining via webcast. A core objective of the event was to develop the potential of the landscape approach to inform future UNFCCC agreements and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To this end, the GLF was organized along four main themes: investing in sustainable landscapes in forests and on farms; landscape policy and governance for forestry, agriculture and other land uses; synergies between adapting to and mitigating climate change in forest and agricultural landscapes; and landscapes for food security and nutrition. In addition to various plenaries, sub-plenaries and technical and networking sessions, a Gender Café and Youth Forum convened.

During the closing plenary, two UNFCCC negotiators highlighted the status of agriculture- and forest-related negotiations at COP 19 and expressed hope that the practical experiences shared at the Forum will provide a fresh impetus to the negotiations. GLF organizers subsequently handed over a draft outcome statement to two negotiators involved in the agriculture- and forest-related workstreams within the UNFCCC to forward to the COP.

The final statement will be available on the GLF website at http://www.landscapes.org/

The first Global Landscapes Forum opened on Saturday morning with a Youth Forum on the future of sustainable landscapes. Following the formal opening plenary session in the afternoon, participants convened in 16 technical and networking sessions to discuss specific issues relating to the forum’s theme of “Shaping the climate and development agenda for forests and agriculture.” The sessions covered, inter alia: landscape-scale planning for REDD+; rethinking governance strategies for integrated landscape management; certifying ecosystem services; climate-smart agriculture; integrated watershed management for rural development, resilience and empowerment; impact of climate change on farmers in Africa; bridging the gap between science, policy and action; achieving synergies between adaptation and mitigation approaches for policy makers and land managers; and financial strategies for integrated landscape management.

A Gender Café also took place during the day to highlight the role of gender in farming, forestry and other land uses.