Technical Meeting 2024
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
GCF Task Force
The GCF Task Force hosted its second Technical Exchange, together with the Governments of Santa Cruz, Pando, and Tarija, Bolivia, from April 23-26, 2024 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
This Technical Exchange built on our call-to-action that was launched during the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, by Governors, Indigenous Peoples, and other partners of the GCF Task Force. The call-to-action seeks to finance what we are calling the “New Forest Economy” by garnering an initial $1 billion in investments and support to develop new forest economies that prioritize environmental sustainability and robust and equitable economic growth across GCF Task Force tropical forest states and provinces.
The call-to-action established a co-design phase over 2024 to attract partners and establish flexible funding mechanisms that allow for locally-driven innovation and action on the ground. This co-design phase is crucial to ensure the needs, realities, and expertise of governmental leaders and their partners, from the private sector to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, are considered and incorporated.
The Technical Exchange in Santa Cruz focused on “Low-Emissions Development and Climate Finance to Reduce Deforestation of Tropical Forests and Achieve a Just Transition,” and served as a critical moment for the co-design phase.
The full program agenda is available in English here. Key elements were:
- High-level insights with Governors and the GCF Task Force Global Secretariat on charting and implementing new forest economies
- Donor and private sector input on the bold ideas they need from jurisdictions to implement funding mechanisms that meet the needs of the jurisdictions and communities
- Substantive presentations from within Bolivia and across the GCF Task Force network on jurisdictional and community efforts to reduce deforestation and improve livelihoods
- Targeted, intensive co-design charettes that develop innovative ideas, processes, and strategies for building and financing forest economies within and across similarly-situated groups of states and provinces.
- Feedback and input from donors and the private sector to advance large-scale funding commitments by the next GCF Task Force Annual Meeting (Ucayali, Peru in Oct. 2024)
- Potential to replicate this effort in other GCF Task Force regions (Mexico, Indonesia, Africa)
Day 0 - Tuesday, April 23rd
IPLC Global Committee Meeting
The Governor’s Climate and Forests Task Force Indigenous People and Local Communities Global Committee arrived early to convene prior to the technical exchange. The Global Committee met to build on the work developed in past years, including the Guiding Principles for Collaboration and Partnership Between Subnational Governments, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and their most recent meeting at COP 28, in Dubai. Make sure to check our dedicated page for updates.
Day 1 - Wednesday, April 24th - The New Forest Economy
The day started with an Opening Ceremony with welcome remarks by meeting host Mario Aguilera, Governor of Santa Cruz and framing remarks around the New Forest Economy by the GCF Task Force Project Lead William Boyd.
Governor Panel
Governors present:
- Dr. Regis Richter Alencar. Pando, Bolivia
- Mario Aguilera. Governor – Santa Cruz, Bolivia
- Óscar Gerardo Montes Barzón. Tarija, Bolivia
- Luis Francisco Ruiz Aguilar. Caquetá, Colombia
- Antonio Leónidas Pulgar Lucas. Huánuco, Peru
- Jorge René Chávez Silvano. Loreto, Peru
- Manuel Gambini Rupay. Ucayali, Peru
- Maliza Assis. Vicegovernor – Acre, Brazil
- Sérgio Gonçalves. Vicegovernor – Rondonia, Brazil
- Leyda Rimarachin. Vicegovernor – Amazonas, Peru
Climate Finance and the New Forest Economy
This speaker panel featured GCF Task Force partners and how they can best support the New Forest Economy in the context of Climate Finance. Moderated by Project Directors Jason Gray and Colleen Scanlan Lyons.
Potential Participants Include
- Karine Hertzberg, Senior Advisor for NICFI
- Richard Ridout, Climate & Nature Counsellor, UK Embassy in Brazil
- Alicia Spangler, Technical Advisor for GiZ
- Chris Jordan, Latin America Director for re:wild
- Andrew Davis, Advisor for CLUA
- Enrique Ortiz, Senior Program Director for the Andes Amazon Fund
- Tatiana Schor, Unit Chief for the Amazon Region at IADB
- Danilo Zelinski, Head IR and Forest & Climate Tech investments, KPTL
- Enrique Garcia, Former Head of CAF
- Pascal Martinez, Amazon Sustainable Landscape Lead for the GEF
- Ana Alban, Executive Director for FIAS
Manaus Action Plan Discussions
In the GCF Task Force’s 2022 Annual Meeting, our member Governors agreed on a set of guidelines to the work to be developed in our member jurisdictions. It was named the Manaus Action Plan (MAP) for a New Forest Economy that builds on four pillars. On the afternoon of April 24, 2024, we organized panels for each of these pillars, divided in two sections for each panel.
People and Communities
Panel 2: Participatory Processes for Constructing New Forest Economies: Guiding Principles, Safeguards, and Collaborative Knowledge Construction that Considers Historical, Social, and Cultural Realities
Knowledge, Technology and Innovation
Panel 2: Transforming Forest Sustainability: Technology and Innovation for Subnational Governments.
Finance, Investment and the Private Sector
Panel 2: Assessing the public/private investment ecosystem: Opportunities for Subnational Governments and Communities
Government and Public Policies
Panel 2: Increasing Credibility in Tropical Governance Approaches: Lessons from the Amazon
Day 2 - Thursday, April 25th - Co-Designing the New Forest Economy
On the second day, designated attendees participated in a collaborative process to co-design the necessary mechanisms to channel finance to our shared vision of the New Forest Economy. We worked in groups with similar challenges to develop solutions applicable to the realities of their jurisdictions and communities in two ways: closed workgroups and public feedback sessions.
Day 3 - Friday, April 26th - Field Visits
The third day of our technical meeting focused on visiting the local experiences that highlight what the New Forest Economy means for Santa Cruz. This included site visits to projects of our partners from Fundación Natura Bolívia, like the Water Funds – a trust fund that coordinates solutions with a water basin as reference, and other experiences like the ones in Porongo, an exposition of 30 entrepreneurs that develop the value chains of Non-timber forest products.