In 2020, FTA put in place a proactive management plan to adapt its plan of work and maximize delivery despite the Covid-19 context. Flagships 1 and 2 (FP1-2) initiated Transformative Partnership Platforms respectively on Transforming the Quality of Tree Planting (TQTP) and on Agroecological Approaches to Building Resilience of Livelihoods and Landscapes. FP3 developed, with its partner Tropenbos, the Inclusive Method for Landscape Analysis of Financial Flows (IMLAFF), piloted in key landscapes in Indonesia, Ghana and Uganda. FP4 influenced the restoration discourse globally through its “from tree planting to tree growing” paradigm, which was adopted by The Gambia and contributed to a national agroforestry policy development process. FP5 initiated a biocircular economy stakeholder consultation process, paving the way for another Transformative Partnership Platform. FTA’s gender research informed multistakeholder low-emissions development workshops organized by the Governors’ Climate and Forest (GCF) Task Force and UNDP, covering 30 jurisdictions in Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Indonesia.
FTA’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Impact Assessment team documented FTA’s progress in addressing key global challenges for which FTA is expected to deliver development outcomes.
2020 also marked the organization of FTA’s decadal conference, gathering more than 520 participants, with 200 scientific outputs (conference). FTA strengthened collaborations with the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) and FAO on adaptation to climate change (e.g., international workshop on rubber and climate change, co-publication with FAO on forests and trees in National Adaptation Plans).
An independent review, commissioned by CGIAR outlined FTA’s “high scientific productivity and strong implementation performance”, and stated that the programme was “likely to make significant progress toward most planned end-of-program targets". The review also highlighted the “close collaboration between FTA partners, and between universities and research institutions”. According to the review, FTA’s “efficient governance, and the effective prioritization and management of resources resulted in a high level of programmatic value-added”.
FTA stood out of the 12 reviews of CRPs by ranking first in terms of collaboration and by being in the top 3 for policy innovations and progress against programmatic outcomes.
