Reforest’Action

His Majesty King Charles III has committed to devote a year of action to climate and biodiversity. For his first commitment to sustainable development in 2023, he organized an event on 17 February dedicated to action favoring nature and biodiversity. The degradation of biodiversity and the collapse of ecosystems are among the five leading global risks for society in the next ten years, according to the latest report by the World Economic Forum. Forests are home to more than 80% of the world's terrestrial species, whose survival is threatened if we do not take appropriate measures.

Stéphane Hallaire, as President and Founder of Reforest'Action, participated in a reception in favor of global biodiversity: an opportunity to meet project leaders and international leaders.

He then took part in a round table to encourage concrete action by the private sector in favor of nature.

A reception in favor of global biodiversity

His Majesty King Charles III hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace in London to discuss the practical implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GFB) adopted on 19 December 2022 at the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) and consisting of four overarching global goals to protect nature and aims to combat biodiversity loss and restore ecosystems.

He brought together members of government and indigenous groups and representatives of companies that are members of the Sustainable Market Initiative, which he founded.

Stéphane Hallaire was then able to meet with project leaders such as Sam Skanyamibwa (Director General of the ARCOS Association), Domingo Peas (representative of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon), Atossa Soltani (Director of Global Strategy, Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative) and Jeanne-d'Arc Mujawamariya (Minister of the Environment of Rwanda).

It was also an opportunity for him to share with a wide range of stakeholders the progress of the actions carried out with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance, of which Reforest'Action has been a member since 2020.

A round table to encourage private sector action in favor of nature

Following the reception, Stéphane Hallaire participated in a round table discussion organized by Lloyd's, SMI, and Bloomberg NEF entitled: "Conserving and restoring: Stimulating private sector action for nature."

During the event, over 80 participants shared experiences to agree on operational actions to support biodiversity and nature protection, halt the drivers of biodiversity loss, and promote nature restoration and regeneration. This includes identifying priority areas for action in the short term and five land and sea areas per year where the private sector can and should contribute.

The day was very action-oriented and brought together different stakeholders who wanted to work together to impact biodiversity significantly.

Nota bene:

The Sustainable Market Initiative (SMI) was founded by His Majesty when he was Prince of Wales. It was launched at the World Economic Forum 2020 Annual Meeting in Davos. SMI's mission is to build a coordinated global effort that enables the private sector to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.

This includes aligning industry, investment and country roadmaps (nationally determined contributions). Under the mandate of the Terra Carta, a private sector roadmap for nature, people, and planet, the Sustainable Markets Initiative is working to encourage three major market transformations:

A sea change in corporate strategies, operations and supply chains;
A reformed global financial system;
An enabling environment that attracts investment and drives action.

References:

World Economic Forum, “Global Risks Report 2023”, 11 janvier 2023, https://fr.weforum.org/reports

FAO. 2022. In Brief to The State of the World’s Forests 2022. Forest pathways for green recovery and building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economies. Rome, FAO, https://doi.org/10.4060/cb9363en