23 September: The Government of Germany and the World Bank have announced a partnership focused on ending deforestation by working with the industries driving the problem – agriculture, infrastructure and mining. Called ‘PROGREEN,’ the collaboration aims to prevent deforestation and biodiversity loss, restore degraded lands and boost land fertility, mitigate climate change, and enhance livelihoods, especially for poor, rural communities.

PROGREEN will have three priority areas: management of terrestrial ecosystems; management of land-use changes from agriculture; and management of landscapes involving select sectors. It will also address cross-cutting issues such as community and vulnerable groups’ engagement, climate change mitigation and financing for development.

Ultimately, the initiative aims to support countries’ efforts to meet the SDGs as well as other development priorities through technical assistance, government capacity building, and finance to incentivize responsible commodity chains, sustainable land management (SLM) and nature-based solutions to infrastructure needs.

According to World Bank Group President David Malpass, the initiative will aim for “impact at scale by supporting the shift from transactional project approaches to performance-based approaches, focused on improving national policies.” German Development Minister Gerd Müller said that PROGREEN will help preserve the planet’s natural resources for the future.

As the seed funder for the initiative, Germany contributed 200 million Euros to commence the program. PROGREEN has a fundraising goal of approximately USD 1 billion. [World Bank Press Release]