Humankind faces some environmental and social challenges of an unprecedented scale. Climate change is accelerating. Impoverished, land-dependent communities struggle to meet their basic needs. Biodiversity loss continues unabated. Although international agreements call for integrated approaches to tackle these pressing global problems, there is little concrete guidance on developing such holistic solutions.
 | Toby Janson-Smith, director of the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) |
In response to this vacuum, a group of leading companies, NGOs and research institutes formed the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) to foster the development of land-management projects that deliver multiple benefits in an integrated and sustainable manner.
As a first step, the CCBA launched the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards - a tool for designing and evaluating forestry projects around the world that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, support sustainable livelihoods and conserve biodiversity.
Traditionally, solutions to many of humanity's greatest global challenges have been developed independently, which has reduced their effectiveness and sometimes even led to negative trade-offs. The time has come to engage in an open dialogue among people with different backgrounds and perspectives, so that we may start to craft synergistic solutions that tackle multiple global problems simultaneously and cost-effectively. For this reason, the CCBA welcomes the Allianz Dropping Knowledge initiative and looks forward to the emergence of a spirited and constructive online discussion.
