Hannah Simmons, WOCAN member and Founder of Ecosystem Regeneration, presented how she is applying the W+ Standard application in ERA’s agroforestry project in Brazil, during the gender plenary of The Food Systems, Land Use, and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program Annual meeting in São Paulo, Brazil on April 17-20. The objective of the session was to present real-world examples of FOLUR and other projects that are targeting, benefiting and empowering women, youths, Indigenous Peoples and others. Experiences of project teams from Mexico, Indonesia and Brazil were shared.
The session generated much interest in the W+ Standard with interested country project teams from Mexico, Brazil and several other country teams including Madagascar. WOCAN is a partner of PROGREEN, associated with FOLUR, to deliver training on the W+ Standard.
The Bank FOLUR coordination team from the agricultural and environmental global practices joined over a hundred participants from across the Core Partners, Country Projects and GEF with 24 out of 27 countries represented.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil were co-hosts of the event, while the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil also provided crucial support. The conference was opened by Mr. Garo Batmanian, General Director of the Brazilian Forestry Service at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil and Mrs. Renata Bueno Miranda, Secretary of Innovation, Sustainable Development, Irrigation, and Cooperativism in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil.
- Sessions over the three-day conference focused on:
- Public incentives for agriculture
- EU Deforestation Regulations
- Codex Planetarius
- The Global Biodiversity Framework
- Private sector insights on how best to raise the incomes of producers and farmers, while boosting sustainability in the key commodities of soy and coffee;
- Mobilizing finance for country projects;
- IFC’s sustainable investment in livestock practices
- Innovative approaches to gender integration, including lessons learned from Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico.