BONN, Germany (Landscape News) – Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the world’s most influential composers, was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770, his lasting legacy cementing the city’s presence in the international spotlight.
Fast forward almost 250 years and Beethoven’s home still stands on a cobbled street, attracting thousands of visitors a year, not far from the meandering Rhine River, which wends its way through the heart of the city.
Bonn is home to an extensive U.N. Campus located in Germany’s former parliamentary buildings, where 18 secretariats and organizations, including the Framework Convention for Climate Change, are based. The city also plays a key political role at the national level.
As host of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), the city will greet some 1,500 visitors, a little over a month after receiving a massive influx of delegates attending the 2017 U.N. climate talks.
“We are proud to be part of this vital global initiative that aims to build a movement to encourage a billion people to work towards restoring equilibrium to the environment,” said Bonn Mayor Ashok Sridharan.
The German federal government supports and funds the GLF, and a German Pavilion at the two day forum on Dec. 19 and 20, will showcase many of the country’s humanitarian, environmental and international development efforts, offering a chance for delegates to learn and network.
Major initiatives featured in the pavilion include One World, No Hunger, International Climate Initiative, African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) and Bonn Challenge, a movement that aims to restore 150 million hectares of the world’s degraded and forested lands by 2020. The Smoke on Water session, hosted by the U.N. Environment program, Global Peatlands Initiative and Greifswald Mire Centre, will explore how to counter global threats from peatland loss and degradation.
Funding for the initiatives derives from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).
Initiatives reflect Germany’s direct support for the GLF and the broad range of landscape related projects in which the country is involved.
Related: Bonn Mayor Ashok Sridharan urges global action on landscapes
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