This article was brought to you by Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (ABOUT IT) Impact Program.
The climate crisis and land degradation threaten the future of food at a time when there are more people to feed than ever before.
The Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program (FOLUR), a $345 million, seven-year program led by the World Bank, is building sustainable value chains for eight key raw materials and staple foods around the world: cocoa, coffee, livestock , corn, palm oil, rice, soy and wheat.
But what does this actually look like in practice?
At a recent GLF Live, we looked back on FOLUR's achievements and its goals for 2025.
The live streaming conversation was introduced Christopher BrettFOLUR Program Manager and Senior Agribusiness Specialist at the World Bank and Dinara AkhmetovaFOLUR Program Manager and Global Environment Department (SENGL), Planet Vice President, Senior Natural Resource Management Specialist at the World Bank. The conversation was moderated by Peter FirstFood systems and land use manager and senior environmental specialist at the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Together they discussed how FOLUR country projects are changing the ecological footprint of agriculture and how to unite stakeholders at local and international levels to improve livelihoods and protect landscapes.
Read some insights from the conversation or rewatch the full livestream.
Where is FOLUR now after three years of implementation?
board: Together with our many partners, we are working to expand their knowledge and use this opportunity to drive change within the 27 FOLUR projects.
The 27 projects are all independent individual projects in their respective countries. Every project develops at a different speed.
Importantly, we coordinate with each country's implementing agency to establish a project management unit composed of GEF representatives, government representatives and country-level representatives.
With the International Finance Corporation (IFC), our private sector development and investment partner, we leveraged $507 million in investment in these commodities last year.
This is an example of what we do and how we do it, and today we are only about 40 or 45 percent of the way through the program.
What are some key highlights for recovery and FOLURization efforts across FOLUR in 2024?
Akhmetova: FOLUR has intensified its focus on restoration, truly focusing on the “R” in its name, by scaling co-financing opportunities and embedding FOLUR principles into country projects.
One of his signature achievements last year was supporting restoration efforts through the “FOLURization” initiative.
FOLUR has offered to provide technical support to the World Bank's country projects within the Global Division of Agriculture and Food and the Global Division of Environment, as well as with other partners. This approach has expanded the reach of the program.
We anchor the FOLUR principles in the World Bank's projects. We have early adopters in countries like Ethiopia and Uganda, demonstrating how we align national projects with the FOLUR principles to achieve transformative impact.
What important actions will the global community take in 2025?
board: The COP agendas are important because they help align us as international institutions and organizations. The COPs bring positive dialogues, but also question the lack of investment.
We have the privilege of working with the World Resources Institute (WRI), which provides meaningful environmental data through Global Forest Watch.
We have also started advising the countries we work with. We still have much work to do to ensure that governments and farmers are included in voluntary markets.
Akhmetova: Land restoration is critical to achieving land degradation neutrality and building climate resilience. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) highlighted that deforestation remains a key driver of biodiversity and climate change.
The world loses about 10 million hectares of forests annually, and deforestation accounts for nearly 11 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The studies I heard at COP29 found that every dollar invested in recovery delivers nearly $9 in economic benefit.
I hope that the restoration work will lead to the commitments made at Biodiversity COP16 to achieve the 30×30 goal of protecting 30 percent of global land and ocean areas by 2030.
It is also important to mention that project approaches should focus on small farmers, women, local communities and indigenous peoples. Inclusivity must remain at the heart of recovery efforts.
What components does the FOLUR Global Platform implement and how does it leverage funding and create an integrative community of practice?
board: We are very focused on the political agenda. We ensure governments work on proactive policies to enable public and private investment.
We want to ensure that we have regulations and rules in place to protect forests and landscapes while encouraging investment in these landscapes.
We also play an important role in investing in public and private partnerships. We are learning how to work with the private sector to transfer this strategic learning to the state level.
What are you looking forward to for FOLUR in 2025?
Akhmetova: In 2025, we will focus on knowledge exchange management and capacity building.
FOLUR will continue to act as a hub for sharing best practices and lessons learned, building on various country dialogues. Scaling up interventions at the state level will be a top priority.
I am really interested in achieving the goal of restoring at least 100,000 hectares and improving practices and over 1 million hectares by the end of 2025 through FOLURization and capacity building measures.