Annual
Report
Harnessing
the power
of forests,
trees and
agroforestry
20
21
Several turning points offered
the Covid-19 pandemic through
widespread (albeit unevenly
distributed) vaccination, the
launch of the UN Decade on
Ecosystem Restoration, and
the historic Glasgow Leaders’
Declaration on Forests and
Land Use.
two critical turning points: the
successful completion of our
three-year merger process and
Program on Forests, Trees and
resulted in millions of hectares
of forests under restoration and
better protection – and millions
of people with improved food
security and nutrition and the
means to exit poverty.
is generating more evidence
of the transformative potential
of trees and forests, with our
research consolidated into
five integrated themes (trees,
governance). Our three holistic
Partnership Platforms,
Engagement Landscapes, and
Flagship Products – are leveraging
resources and partnerships across
finished the year with a project
pipeline of USD 430 million and
harmonized internal management.
towards our Gender, Diversity
and Inclusion goals and we now
have a dynamic new website
launched a recruitment process for
This report shines a light on
some of our solutions to five
global challenges: deforestation
and biodiversity loss, climate
change, dysfunctional food
systems, unsustainable
supply and value chains, and
informing national policies in
Peru and Viet Nam, applying
new technologies in the Congo
Basin and India, and co-creating
solutions with partners and
communities in Indonesia and
Cameroon, all while integrating
considerations of the rights of
women, Indigenous Peoples and
vulnerable rural communities.
Exciting new projects launched in
2021 include Trees Outside Forests
in partnership with The Nature
1.5 billion people have been
connected through the Global
Landscapes Forum, which
– most notably at the UN climate
conference in Glasgow, which
had over 1 million session views
Landscapes is fast becoming
a nexus between science and
business, finance, government
and civil society, with new projects
starting in Papua New Guinea,
Serbia and Brazil.
O Connor passes the baton to
welcome Professor Getachew
as one organization forged
to the generous support of our
funding and strategic partners
and the tireless efforts of our over
700 staff, we are well on our way
to implementing our theory of
change and realizing our vision
of a more equitable world where
forest and agroforestry landscapes
enhance the environment and
well-being for all.
Getachew Engida
Board Chair
Robert Nasi
CIFOR Director General
Tony Simons
2
Board of trustees
» Getachew Engida
Board Chair
» Doris Capistrano
Vice Chair
» Alexander Müller
» Bushra Naz Malik
» Kathleen Merrigan
» Marja-Liisa Tapio-Biström
» Kaoru Kitajima
» Vijai Sharma
» Government of Kenya
Representative
» Government of Indonesia
Representative
» Tony Simons
» Robert Nasi
Letter from the board and management
3
Reach
publication
downloads
citations
publications
reached on
social media
website page
views
2.5M 50k927
305
M5.6M
media articles
3.7k
Worldwide presence
with offices in 25 countries. We currently have
739 staff and 192 active projects.
Partnership
funding partners strategic partners
159 281
We are deeply grateful for the financial support of our funding partners and the collaboration
of our strategic partners. For more information see page 22.
Our decades-long host country agreements with
Indonesia and Kenya reflect their global leadership and
deep commitment to forests, trees and agroforestry.
CIFOR-ICRAF expenditures 2021
For more information see page 21.
total expenditure in 2021
$85.7M
Research areas
Annual Report 2021
4
Global challenges
– and how to
tackle them
Our planet and the people who live
on it are in the midst of a perfect
storm of five interconnected global
challenges: deforestation and
biodiversity loss, climate change,
dysfunctional food systems,
unsustainable supply and value
chains, and inequality. Because
each crisis affects the others,
solving them requires whole-
system responses that consider
how all people are affected and
the environment is impacted
over time.
ICRAF not only delivers holistic
solutions but also ensures their
relevance to national programmes
and local communities, as shown
throughout this report. By
supporting local innovation rather
than helicoptering in solutions from
outside, we embrace cutting-
in hand with global, national and
local communities to co-create
and scale solutions that meet
their needs.
We operate transformative
not only to understand how
gender inequity compromises
sustainable development, but also
to shift power asymmetries to
create a more equitable future for
both men and women.
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Five major global challenges interact
with and amplify each other in
myriad ways.
5
1
Thriving, diverse
forests and farms
2
Climate-resilient
ecosystems and
communities
3
Sustainable, vibrant
food systems
4
Green, equitable
supply and value
chains
5
Inclusive, rights-
based participation
Our way of working
Our innovations
Our network
contributing to a decisive shift in
global trajectories: from a future
of environmental destruction
and livelihood crises to one of
prosperity and planetary health.
Uniquely equipped to deliver
transformative research, we
harness the power of science and
innovation to improve the benefits
that forests, trees, soils and
their sustainable management
for a more resilient, equitable
is aligned with the Sustainable
Development Goals and the Paris
Agreement, as well as the three
Rio Conventions.
We continue to implement our
themes: Trees and forest genetic
resources and biodiversity;
Climate change, energy and
low-carbon development;
Soil and land health;
Sustainable value chains and
investments; and Governance,
equity and well-being.
CIFOR and ICRAF are members
of CGIAR, a global research
partnership for a food-secure
In this report, find out what
changing solutions to global
and national challenges through
three innovative approaches that
are catalysing a positive shift in
research for development across
Africa, Asia and Latin America:
• Transformative Partnership
Platforms – alliances focused
on critically important
challenges
• Engagement Landscapes –
geographic locations where we
carry out concentrated, long-
diverse and committed partners
• Flagship Products – initiatives
that provide action-oriented
Find specific examples of
these innovations throughout
this report.
globallandscapesforum.org
resilient-landscapes.org foreststreesagroforestry.org
The right tree
in the right
place for the
right purpose.
Yangambi, DRC.
© Axel Fassio/
