'Voices from the Forest' film used to bring local voices into #COP26 discussions

Madagascar's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development (Dr Vahinala Raharinirina) spoke at an event on the EU pavillion at #COP26 called "Unlocking investments to deliver equitable nature-based solutions for a green, healthy and resilient future". The event, which also included Mr. Eunsik Park (Secretary-General, XV World Forestry Congress Secretariat), Mr. François Roudié, Ambassador of the European Union in El Salvador , Mr. Pascal Martinez (Senior Climate Change Specialist, Global Environment Facility), Mette Wilkie (Director, Forestry Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of 
the United Nations), Hon. Dr. Jeanne D’Arc Mujawamariya (Minister of Environment, Republic of Rwanda) was jointly organized by the FAO, the Korea Forest Service, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Forests4
Climate&People, and European Commission. It brought together state and non-state actors including representatives of government, finance institutions, civil society and local community representatives for a dynamic discussion on the role of forests and forest communities in supporting sustainable business models for NbS. It highlighted why empowering local communities to be full partners in NbS is so vital and showcased how new and innovative approaches to finance policy and investment can contribute  to scaling up climate action towards sustainable forest, agriculture and land use management.

We were delighted that the voices of people from the forest frontier in Madagascar were brought into this high-level discussion directly. As the image below shows, the minister played the trailer of our film during her intervention to explain how international environmental policy directly impacts local people. This was incredibly powerful and many of those attending commented on how different this was from most rather dry sessions which may mention local impacts of policies, feel rather removed from the realities.

Publication date: 5 November 2021