International Partnerships Facility
Forests are home to most of Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity. They are central to mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts, essential to sustainable food production, and are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. But the expansion of agricultural crops, illegal logging and land-use conflicts are driving forest loss.
To protect and restore the world’s forests, partnerships are needed. Only in partnership with others – governments, civil society, the private sector, international organisations and the scientific community – we can achieve these goals.
Who we are
The International Partnerships Facility (IPF) is a global centre of knowledge and expertise that supports policy and governance reforms to safeguard the world’s forests. The IPF is a division of the European Forest Institute, situated in Barcelona, Spain. Our team combines hands-on experience and policy insight in key areas:
- Forest and land management
- Supply chains and trade
- Legal and policy reform
- Gender equality and inclusion
- Certification and licensing
- Finance, negotiation, and communication
We work across Central and West Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Central and South America.
Our mission: Protecting and restoring forests
We promote sustainable forest and land use to help protect and restore forests and maximise their role in green economic growth, climate change mitigation and poverty alleviation. We also foster legal, deforestation-free and sustainable commodity production and trade.
Our work: Building effective partnerships and facilitating inclusive national and international processes
We facilitate partnerships between producing and consuming countries to protect and restore forests. Partnerships are essential for driving meaningful and lasting change.
Our work brings together governments, communities, civil society, the private sector, research institutions, and development partners through inclusive dialogue and coordinated action at national, regional, and international levels.
The Facility designs and pilots innovative tools and approaches, and supports the development of legally binding agreements and partnership models focused on sustainable land use, commodity production, and trade.
In producing countries, we help strengthen and implement legal frameworks and policies. We then apply this experience to support and inform policy development in consuming countries.
Our programmes
Since its creation in 2022, the International Partnerships Facility has been working on different projects that contribute to safeguard the world’s forests. We are currently developing the following programmes:
We support the EU Flagship Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon.
We collaborate with commodity-producing countries to assist in transitioning to legal and deforestation-free value chains, in line with the EUDR market requirements.
We support countries to address their forest governance and land use challenges, and act to strengthening forest governance and forest climate change linkages.
An assessment and monitoring tool for capturing evidence in areas of governance applicable to the production, protection and conservation of forests.
We support Cameroon’s efforts in sustainable natural resource management and climate change mitigation.
We promote an inclusive and sustainable forest economies in Côte d'Ivoire though a holistic approach that addresses declining forest resources and strengthens economic resilience.
Our funding
The IPF is part of the European Forest Institute and is funded by the EU and other European countries. With a strong track record in international project management, we are a trusted partner to global institutions and initiatives.