On the 26th October, Savory Institute CEO, Daniela Ibarra-Howell, had the great honor to attend the High Level Meeting on Climate Friendly Landscapes hosted by the Sustainability Unit of the Prince’s Charities at Lancaster House in London, by invitation from HRH Prince of Wales and French Minister of Agriculture Stephan Le Foll.
The meeting was intended to advance the conversations with key partners on the scientific, financial and political state, opportunities, and needs around the role of soil, forests and land use in achieving the climate commitments in the context of COP22.
Scientific presentations included the “Global Carbon Cycle and the Sequestration Potential of Terrestrial Ecosystems” by Professor Simon Lewis, University College London, and the “Global Soil Carbon Storage and Sequestration Potential across Continents and Biomes” by Professor Rattan Lal, Ohio State University, followed by comments from Sir David King, Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change. The French 4 per 1000 Initiative was discussed, with presentations on “Soils for Food Security and Climate” by Ms. Catherine GeslainLanéelle, French Ministry of Agriculture, and a scientific overview by Dr. Jean-François Soussana, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique.
Examples of existing initiatives around the world were shared by representatives from Sénégal, Ethiopia, UK, and Uruguay, among others, all regions where the Savory network is positioned to advance the practice of Holistic Management and where new key partnerships have been recently established.
Andre Leu, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and Professor Eric Toensmeier, Yale University presented some of the robust emerging science supporting the incredible opportunity that resides in the holistic and regenerative management of grasslands to remove atmospheric carbon and store it in soils.
A finance and policy session enjoyed the presentations and insights of representatives of the Agençe Française de Développement, and the World Bank among others.
Keynote addresses from HRH The Prince of Wales and the French Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll, marked a renewed commitment to the 4p1000 initiative, by inviting partners at the table to help create mechanisms for implementation of commitments. This was identified as the main challenge the initiative is facing and constitutes a unique strength of and opportunity for the Savory Global network.
The work of the Savory Global network was shared among participants, who expressed excitement and opened doors for collaboration in all regions of the world.
We are grateful for the continued support and inclusion of Allan Savory and the Savory Institute and Network by HRH Prince of Wales, which continues to help accelerate the interest around our work and the partnerships and opportunities emerging.
