CIFOR and ICRAF relaunch as Landscape Alliance to scale nature-based solutions

By AI, Created 10:56 AM UTC, June 04, 2026, /AGP/ – Two leading forest and agroforestry research centres have relaunched in Nairobi as Landscape Alliance to speed up nature-based solutions for climate, biodiversity and livelihoods. The 2025-2035 strategy targets 500 million tonnes of emissions reductions, 15 million hectares of restored land and resilient livelihoods for 20 million people by 2035.

Why it matters: - Landscape Alliance is positioning forests, farms and water systems as one connected system, which could speed up solutions that cut emissions, restore land and protect biodiversity at the same time. - The partnership’s 2035 targets are large: avoid or reduce emissions equivalent to 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, restore 15 million hectares of degraded land and support resilient livelihoods for 20 million people. - The relaunch comes as governments face mounting pressure to respond to linked climate, nature and land crises ahead of biodiversity COP talks in Armenia.

What happened: - The Center for International Forestry Research, or CIFOR, and World Agroforestry, or ICRAF, unveiled a new joint identity, Landscape Alliance, in Nairobi on World Environment Day. - The two centres said the relaunch reflects a 10-year strategy to 2035 focused on scaling nature-based solutions. - The alliance works in more than 90 countries. - Landscape Alliance said it brings decades of expertise in forests, trees, agroforestry and sustainable land use.

The details: - Landscape Alliance said its 2025-2035 strategy centers on four areas: climate change mitigation and adaptation; biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; food and nutrition security; and secure and sustainable livelihoods and well-being. - The partnership hosts one of the world’s largest agroforestry tree germplasm collections, which supports research into climate, biodiversity, jobs, livelihoods and food security. - Current work includes drought resilience through agroforestry, rangeland restoration and climate-adaptive land management in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel. - The partnership has also helped bring more than 114,000 hectares of cocoa farmland in Ghana under sustainable management, including shaded cocoa systems. - Research cited by the alliance says forests removed about 29% of global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere in 2024. - Tropical forests host more than half of all terrestrial species. - Agroforestry landscapes can sustain up to 60% more biodiversity than monocultures. - Trees and forests can sequester more carbon through ecosystem restoration and improved land management. - Agroforestry can produce food while also storing carbon.

Between the lines: - The rebrand signals a broader move from parallel forestry and agroforestry work to integrated landscape-scale planning. - Dr. Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO of Landscape Alliance, said the alliance is meant to bridge science and action across climate, nature and land negotiations. - Ubalijoro also said a landscape approach recognizes that decisions in one place affect the resilience of the whole system. - The alliance frames its new identity as a response to the need for system-wide transformation that cannot be achieved by any one institution alone.

What’s next: - Landscape Alliance will push ahead with its 2025-2035 strategy and seek to translate research into implementation across climate, biodiversity, food security and livelihoods. - The alliance expects nature-based solutions for sustainable landscapes to remain high on the global agenda as COP negotiations continue this year. - The next decade will be used to test whether the partnership can scale results fast enough to meet its 2035 goals.

The bottom line: - CIFOR and ICRAF are betting that a single landscape lens can turn tree and land science into larger, faster real-world impact for people and planet.