UNDP’s Global Programme on Nature for
Development brings together three different initiatives – the Equator
Initiative, the New York Declaration on Forests Global Platform, and the
National Biodiversity Initiative under one program in order to identify,
foster, showcase and celebrate nature-based solutions that help achieve the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at local, national, and international
levels. The work of the Global Programme on Nature for Development contributes
to UNDP's Strategic Plan 2018-2021 by charting sustainable development pathways
through the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of
biodiversity and ecosystems; and by promoting inclusive and effective
democratic governance in the area of natural resources.
The Equator Initiative brings together
the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots
organizations to recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions
for people, nature and resilient communities. The Equator Initiative seeks to recognize
the success of local and indigenous initiatives; create opportunities and
platforms to share knowledge and good practice; inform policy to foster an
enabling environment for local and indigenous community action; and develop the
capacity of indigenous peoples and local communities to scale-up their impact.
The Equator Initiative is built upon
three equally important pillars:
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The Equator Prize is
awarded biennially to recognize and advance local sustainable development
solutions for people, nature and resilient communities. As local and indigenous
groups across the world chart a path towards sustainable development, the
Equator Prize shines a spotlight on their efforts by honoring them on an
international stage.
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Equator Dialogues are an ongoing series of
community-driven meetings and exchanges, held in conjunction with related
international forums. Equator Dialogues provide opportunities for people to
share experiences, develop capacities and influence policy.
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Equator Knowledge is a research, documentation and
learning program focused on local best practice in sustainable development. The
Equator Initiative works with partners to identify, document, and analyze the
success factors of local best practice, and to catalyze ongoing peer-to-peer
learning, knowledge exchange and replication of best practice.
The Global Platform for the New York
Declaration on Forests (NYDF), is a partnership of governments, multinational
companies, civil society and indigenous peoples who strive to halve
deforestation by 2020 and to end it by 2030. The NYDF outlines ten ambitious
global targets related to protecting and restoring forests. The Global Platform
for the New York Declaration on Forests seeks to fill an important gap in
multi-stakeholder engagement and collaboration necessary to achieve the goals
of the NYDF. The NYDF Global Platform works to increase ambition, forge new
partnerships and accelerate progress on the NYDF goals by responding to NYDF
endorsers’ requests for a dedicated, multi-stakeholder platform to
re-invigorate political endorsement of the NYDF, to facilitate coordination and
communication, to share best practices, resources and lessons, and to support
ongoing monitoring of progress.
The National Biodiversity Initiative supports
countries to manage their ecosystems and biodiversity in order improve national
planning and governance of biodiversity, ecosystems, and development, and to
promote resilience for sustainable development. The National Biodiversity
Initiative works in three project areas: National Biodiversity Strategies and
Action Plans (NBSAPs) Support, National Reporting, and Capacity Building. The
use of spatial data for spatial planning is a cross-cutting theme across these
project areas.
Knowledge Sharing is a main goal of the
Equator Initiative, the National Biodiversity Initiative, and NYDF. The Equator
Initiative has a large series of research papers, books, and other publications
focusing on local approaches to poverty reduction and conservation, informed by
community-based initiatives. 180 case studies in over 30 languages have
documented the Equator Prize Winners’ innovative practices that deliver the
win-win-win solutions that ensure social, economic, and environmental
sustainability. The National Biodiversity Initiative works in partnership with
UN Environment’s MapX to share knowledge on the role of spatial data in
biodiversity planning, policymaking, and reporting through story maps. The NYDF
Global Platform aims to use case studies about NYDF endorsers from a variety of
stakeholder groups, including companies, governments, indigenous peoples and
NGOs in order to share best practices and challenges in implementing the NYDF
goals.
Learning for Nature is a capacity-building offer provided by the
Global Programme on Nature for Development, cutting across the three areas of
work. This program connects biodiversity policymakers, change-makers, and
on-the-ground subject matter experts to facilitate the delivery of the
Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the
achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Access to the global
multi-stakeholder networks mobilized by the NYDF, the Equator Initiative, and
the National Biodiversity Initiative allows Learning for Nature to circulate knowledge while promoting best
practices. Building on our learnings on the ground, we seek synergies, build
linkages, and engage thousands of course participants on their journey towards
sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient
communities. Learning for Nature
invites you to explore opportunities for building capacity to scale up efforts
for nature-based sustainable development through Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs), webinars, self-paced e-learning modules, and private training courses.
For
further information please go to: www.equatorinitiative.org, www.nbsapforum.net, www.learningfornature.org, www.mapx.org,
or www.nydfglobalplatform.org.