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The GCF Task Force Network for Sociobioeconomy Innovation
We need a new development pathway forward if we are to protect the world’s tropical forest regions and benefit the people who depend upon these places which, in fact, is all of us. In 2022 the world’s largest subnational government network for forests and climate, the Governors’ Climate and Forests (GCF) Task Force, launched an initiative calling for a transition to a new forest- based economy across vast forested regions of the world. This initiative, or Blueprint for a New Forest Economy, calls upon key partners in regional, national, and international climate and biodiversity communities to create and implement integrated economic development and forest conservation strategies.
Sociobioeconomy, including its many definitions and concepts,1 is a critical element in the transition toward new forest economies. Various organizations and institutions are working hard to promote sociobioeconomy in tropical forests. Many have also called for the establishment of sociobioeconomy innovation hubs to promote knowledge exchange and learning, to facilitate partnerships, and to provide seed funding for new sociobioeconomy ventures in states and provinces.
The 45 subnational GCF Task Force members (states, provinces, and regions spanning 11 countries) are also thinking about and working on context-specific strategies to harness science, technology, business, and innovation for sociobioeconomy development that protects tropical forests at the scale and rate we need.2 This transition is not a simple one. Subnational governments are advocating for creating innovation centers, new technological development, and economic incentives to support their new forest economy efforts. They also need knowledge exchange and learning opportunities, participatory and capacity-building partnerships, and seed funding to spur and scale their sociobioeconomy work.
Subnational governments are also calling upon the private sector, national government, civil society, technical, and financial actors to join them in these efforts; each sector has a role to play in this ambitious transition. Governments must demonstrate the political support and establish durable policies and structures that derisk socio-investments in and across states and provinces. Private sector and industry leaders bring the financial capital and technical expertise that is essential for these large- scale economic transitions. Banks, multilateral institutions, and foundations also support this transition through targeted programs and initiatives that support sociobioeconomy development and work for integration across states, countries, and regions. And civil society, academic, research, and innovation partners are critical for supporting planning and engagement processes with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, targeted technical training, project development, and ongoing capacity building in the dynamic landscapes where forest-based sociobioeconomies must take root. It is time to bring these efforts together so we can avoid duplication, move faster, and scale sociobioeconomy development in tropical forest regions of the world.
Today we agree to form a subnational-led global partnership to track, integrate, and inspire progress toward sociobioeconomy development in tropical forest regions of the world.
Here’s how this will work.
First, this partnership will join representatives from subnational governments, the private sector, banks and investors, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, civil society organizations, and research and academia to specific, measurable actions as part of this process.3 Unified, cross-sector efforts will better support sociobioeconomy transitions in tropical forest regions of the world by promoting the policies, innovation, and investments that are needed to reduce poverty and promote forest conservation. These commitments will be tracked and used to promote integration across the many actors needed for sociobioeconomy transitions. Second, to inspire innovation and a “race to the front” that promotes subnational leadership in the new forest economy agenda, members of this partnership will work together to establish and launch a challenge to establish proof-of-concept pilots and sociobioeconomy hubs across regions, such as the Amazon and Indonesia. A representative group from the partnership will develop this challenge in the coming months as part of the broader design process for a network of science, technology, and innovation hubs. The challenge goal is to identify and support early movers in this new forest economy agenda while building the foundation for a coordinated, strategic, and networked effort.
This sociobioeconomy innovation partnership, and the sociobioeconomy pilots and hubs challenge, will develop pathways toward new forest economic transitions that build on the strengths of different sectors, that stress collaboration, and that are timely, actionable, and at scale. Together we must build sustainable and regenerative economies—as big as the tropical forest regions we are working to conserve.
Here’s how this will come together:
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Subnational Governments Agree To:
– Developing a sociobioeconomy strategy (with robust public participation and integration across sectors) and to integrating this strategy with existing jurisdictional strategies and investment plans.
– Developing durable political support (decrees, laws, policies, tax benefits) that promote sociobioeconomy implementation.
– Dedicating human and financial resources, such as forming a sociobioeconomy secretariat and/or state level commissions, to integrate this agenda across state agencies (environment, planning, finance, science and technology, infrastructure, etc.) and across urban and rural geographies.
– Working toward public-private partnerships to finance sociobioeconomy development.
– Seeking alignment between state and national-level policies and political structures (ie. The Brazilian National Secretary for Sociobioeconomy, the Interregional Consortium for the Amazon, the Peruvian Mancomunidad).
Participants:
– Brazilian GCFtf members: Amapá, Acre, Amazonas, Pará
– Peruvian GCFtf members: Amazonas, Piura, Loreto, San Martin, Ucayali, Húanuco, Mancomunidad
– Colombian GCFtf members: Caquetá
– Ecuadorean GCFtf members: Pastaza, Morona Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe Bolivian
– Bolivian GCFtf members: Pando, Santa Cruz, Tarija
– Mexican GCFtf members: Oaxaca, Yucatan, Chiapas
– Municipality of Sepahua (Ucayali)
– Municipality of Las Piedras (Madre de Dios)
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Strategic International Partners Agree To:
– Working with state governments to support and integrate subnational and national sociobioeconomy strategies and plans within the broader forest conservation agenda.
– Promoting information sharing and collaboration among actors working to develop and implement robust sociobioeconomy initiatives at the subnational level.
Participants:
– UK Embassy in Brazil
– Norwegian Embassy in Brazil
– KfW
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Private Sector, Industry, and Foundation Leaders Agree To:
– Engaging with state government leaders to educate on investment needs, unlock barriers, and derisk short- and long-term investments (policies, tax benefits, appropriate lands, participation processes).
– Identifying strategic opportunities for individual subnational governments as well as across regions (i.e. the Brazilian Amazon, Amazon Basin, Indonesian provinces, etc.) to participate in existing regional development initiatives.
– Providing short-term technical assistance and sociobioeconomy readiness support for state-level sociobioeconomy development planning and early-implementation initiatives.
– Providing long-term financing options for large-scale sociobioeconomy infrastructure development (factory transitions or construction, transportation, energy, etc.).
– Providing seed capital to fund initial sociobioeconomy preparation at the subnational level (integrated planning processes, participatory stakeholder engagement, technical training, research, innovation) as a foundation for sociobioeconomy investment across states and provinces.
– Working with state and national-level governments to establish longer-term funding mechanisms such as state- based funds and integrated public-private partnerships.
– Investing in select high-risk/high-impact pilot projects to demonstrate “quick wins” for the sociobioeconomy agenda and build community and political-level support.
Participants:
– KPTL
– BH26
– Latimpacto
– Future Climate Group
– Instituto Clima e Sociedade
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Civil Society Organizations Agree To:
– Providing technical assistance for sociobioeconomy planning, including stakeholder engagement support, to state governments as they develop and integrate their sociobioeconomy plans.
– Providing sociobioeconomy readiness training in urban and rural communities (business development, supply chain management, etc.)
– Coordinating among state-led efforts and complementary planning and implementation processes with states and other CSOs to avoid duplication and promote scale and impact.
Participants:
– The Nature Conservancy
– Conservation International
– World Wildlife Fund-US
– Amazon Conservation Association
– Amazon Investors Coalition
– Fundação Amazonas Sustentável
– MDA – Mecanismos de Desarrollo Alternos
– Earth Innovation Institute
– Centro de Innovación Científica Amazónica (CINCIA, Peru)
– Conservación Amazónica (ACEAA, Bolivia)
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Academic/Research/Innovation Partners Commit To:
– Bringing state of the art scientific research, technology, innovation, participation, and scaling mechanisms to sociobioeconomy development through briefs and other mechanisms that have utility to state-level government policy development.
– Connecting research networks and institutions (such as the Science Panel for the Amazon and affiliated member institutions) with subnational governments and their partners working to develop and implement sociobioeconomy strategies.
– Working with subnational governments to develop sociobioeconomy innovation spaces (labs, hubs, etc.).
Participants:
– University of Colorado Boulder – Institute of Behavioral Science Environment & Society Program and Center for the Governance of Natural Resources
– University of California Los Angeles – Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment
– University of Wisconsin Madison – Global Land Use and Environment Lab (GLUE)
– Science Panel for the Amazon
– Wake Forest University – Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability University
– Conservation X Labs
– CINCHI
– CIFOR
– UNAMAZ
– Centro de Bionegócios da Amazônia (CBA)
– Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) de Perú
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Notes:
1 As used in a recent publication by the Instituto de Clima e Sociedade, “sociobioeconomy encompasses both sociobiodiversity products and services and ecosystem restoration, covering the following typologies: forest-based sociobioeconomy (based on forestry), sociobioeconomy (based on sociobiodiversity) (see also Uma Concertação pela Amazônia) and bioecological sociobioeconomy (see also the New Economy for the Brazilian Amazon (NEA-BR). Likewise, the social and productive inclusion perspective is considered as a relevant pillar for the development of these businesses.
2 The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) policy brief calls for “A network of science, technology and innovation hubs for the Amazon [to] play a key role in the transition towards these new regenerative socio-bioeconomies…to strategically catalyze and accelerate the innovation, investment, and capacities needed to achieve breakthroughs towards such a transition.” The Inter-American Development Bank’s Amazonia Forever initiative highlights the need for cross-border collaboration, regional integration, and financing to support sociobioeconomy and calls for sociobioeconomy hubs to support local business development, connect with stakeholders and strengthen local networks, and create mechanisms for adoption and/or replication through durable public policy processes. This network will align and complement other processes, from the Uma Concertação pela Amazônia Network to state, regional, and global efforts (i.e. Pará, Brazil’s World Sociobioeconomy Forum), emphasizing the role of subnational states and regions in promoting sociobioeconomy development.
3 We will stock-take progress on these commitments biannually and will report back through a transparent mechanism, led by the GCF Task Force and other partners in this network.