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Dear friends of Pilot Projects,
Greetings from Georgetown, Guyana! We hope you’ve had a great fall. We are excited to share what we’re up to, and what we’ve been working on for the past months.
COP28 DUBAI: CO-CREATING A FOREST-POSITIVE BUILDING RESOURCE PLATFORM
Friday December 8, 9:00 - 11:30 GST
COP28 marks a crucial moment in addressing groundswell in the rethinking of global built environment systems and incorporating more biobased materials in city building. It is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bolster global collaboration and develop coordination platforms. So many fantastic initiatives packed with energy, resources and great people, but not enough coordination to allow strategic roleplaying between these networks. In order to take advantage of these initiatives we must have the right tools and information to contextualize them so we can see how they do (or should) work together. This is the essence of systems thinking that is so easily lost in our enthusiasm to do good work and acquire funding for it.
To explore how we might improve this situation Pilot Projects is co-hosting a workshop at COP28. This platform is envisioned as a set of dynamic open sourced maps, tools, and funding mechanisms that support systemic collaboration on this topic. This in-person workshop will be hosted by Pilot Projects at Ecuador’s "One Planet Pavilion" inside the Blue Zone at COP28 in Dubai. To register your interest in the event and add it to your calendar please use this link. Please note that you will need a blue zone pass to participate in the event.
If you are participating in UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai between November 30 - December 12, let us know - we’d love to meet you there! Our team is hosting and participating in several other events and discussions, and contributing to many forums on how forests and the built environment are key to a low carbon future.
WEBINAR: HOW TO USE THE FOREST FOOTPRINT FOR CITIES DASHBOARD & ACTION PLATFORM
Wednesday 29 November from 11-11:45 am EST / 1-1:45 pm BRT / 5-5:45 pm CET / 7-7:45 EAT
Cities4Forests is excited to host the launch of the Forest Footprint for Cities platform, which will be held via webinar on Wednesday 29 November from 11-11:45 am EST. The Forest Footprint for Cities is a new online tool that has been developed by Cities4Forests to help cities clearly understand, and reduce, the tropical deforestation they are connected to. This session will feature an in-depth platform demonstration where attendees will explore interactive visualizations on the dashboard, learn how to navigate the Action Platform, and gain insights through case studies and supporting resources. Registration for the webinar is available here.
GEORGETOWN (GUYANA) PARTNER FOREST LAUNCH: “FOREST COVERS”
On November 20th in Georgetown, the Capital of Guyana, (the country with effectively the world's highest tropical forest cover and lowest deforestation rate) we were able to launch "Conservation Timber Works" - a Cities4Forests Partner Forests Program with the Guyana Forestry Commission and the City Council of Georgetown. The project is a collaboration with several entities to ensure its scalability: national government, municipal government, private sector companies, community forestry partners and Cities4Forests. This project takes FSC certified timber "waste" or low grade stock, and adds value to it by using shorts for municipal infrastructure while addressing the city’s immediate need for manhole covers. With this program we will also be able to significantly improve the utilization rate from local mills or forest floor residues, and create demand for this globally. This use of conservation timber also scores highly on most of the Sustainable Wood for Cities Pathways.
We look forward to scaling this program with the Guyana Forestry Commission, the City of Georgetown, our private sector partners, and the communities who are at the most important link in the value chain protecting forest integrity, and rolling out "forest covers" for all of Georgetown's open manholes.
Read more and see the full image gallery for the Georgetown project here.
EQUIPPING STUDENTS WITH CONSERVATION TIMBER IN GALWAY THROUGH THE PARTNER FOREST PROGRAM
We are excited to announce the launch of a groundbreaking collaboration with the Atlantic Technological University and Galway County Council in Ireland. As part of Galway County’s Partner Forest program, advanced design and woodworking students will use design and craftsmanship to demonstrate how Conservation Timber can be put to use in Galway County and other urban areas of Ireland. This timber, sourced from a social forestry enterprise in the Amazonas state of Brazil, can meet the need for a people-centered approach to public spaces and the municipality’s pace-setting sustainability goals. Additionally, we are working with the Galway County Council and Greenville Procurement Partners to develop Europe's most comprehensive Sustainable Wood Procurement policy that supports and extends the latest EU Green Public Procurement regulations. Learn more about Galway’s Partner Forest Program, the 6th that Cities4Forests has launched in Europe.
BUILT BY NATURE LAUNCHES “BUILT BY NATURE PRIZE”
Built by Nature, is a network, community of practice, and grant-making fund (which Pilot Projects is also a Strategic Partner) has announced a global prize totalling €500,000 to recognise innovation and stimulate scalability in the use of biobased materials such as timber, bamboo, hemp, straw, algae, and fungi in construction. The deadline for applications is January 25, 2024, with final winners to be announced on June 4, 2024. Interested applicants are encouraged to visit the Built by Nature Prize website for full details.
Stay tuned for more news on the following events we are preparing for this winter! If you are attending or would like more information on these events please reach out to us.
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