Initiative 20x20 held its first annual meeting on February 24-25th at CATIE’s campus in Turrialba, Costa Rica. The meeting provided an opportunity for the country members, technical partners and private impact investors to share information on the national forest and landscape restoration plans, and objectives. It was also an excellent opportunity to identify potential collaboration pathways between members and plan next steps to achieve regional restoration goals. Walter Vergara, Initiative 20x20 executive secretary and coordinator, provided a background on the project and expressed the current status of the Initiative in terms of country members and States, technical partners and new private impact investors. This was the first annual meeting organized by WRI and CATIE with the support of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), from The German Federal Ministry for the Environment Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

The annual meeting kicked off with presentations from the private impact investors who showcased their investment models and interest in specific countries within the region. Representatives from each country followed up with an update of the restoration work being led and the plans and strategies envisioned to implement successful restoration projects in the ground. Finally, the technical partners highlighted their mission and commitment with providing technical assistance and applied research to support national restoration plans and, in some cases, support in the process of strengthening the activities from the private sector.