Model Forests and Biodiversity
The diversity of life on Earth, or biodiversity, defines the world as we know it. However, as our planet battles issues like habitat loss, climate change, and natural resource exploitation, biodiversity is rapidly declining. Going forward, we need to identify sustainable and lasting solutions to protect Earth’s most valuable asset, life itself. Model Forests present unique strategies and spaces to protect, conserve, and restore biodiversity for the continued survival and diversity of life on our planet.
This technical brief—prepared for the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nation Framework Convention of Climate Change (COP30)—provides background on the connections between forests and biodiversity, then presents lessons and a case study from the International Model Forest Network (IMFN). As countries, communities, civil society, and the private sector work to overcome the biodiversity crisis and avoid a catastrophic mass extinction, it is essential to carry forward these lessons from Model Forests, translating them across contexts and scales. The international community can still reach global biodiversity goals, but we must act urgently and raise ambition. Model Forests provide a guiding framework for doing so, demonstrating proven mechanisms for conserving the world’s forest biodiversity and achieving a Nature-Positive society.
This publication has been produced with financial support from the Government of Canada’s Global Forest Leadership Program and through the International Model Forest Network (IMFN) Secretariat's IMFN Climate initiative.
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