NOW Partners Foundation

NOW Partners Foundation will be at the UN’s Conference to Combat Desertification (COP16Riyadh) in Riyadh next week. Our events will share and advance the opportunities of regenerative agriculture, natural farming & agroecology approaches as key solutions for desertification, climate, biodiversity and farmers. ➡️ BLUE ZONE COP16 NOW Partners Foundation, in collaboration with AEON Collective, Imar, Engineering Consultants , Agroecology Coalition, the Future Economy Forum, SEKEM Group, APCNF, Natural Capitalism Solutions and other partners will co-host side events in Areas A & D of the Blue Zone. Wed 4 Dec, 11:00 to 12:30 (room MET-04) Combating Desertification, Food Insecurity and Climate Change in Arid Environments Globally Thurs 5 Dec, 17:00-18.30 (room MET 24) Framing Sustainable Agriculture Approaches, Agroecology Coalition Mon 9 Dec, 11:00-12:30 (room MET-01) Regenerative Agriculture and Nature-based, Science-backed Innovation: Empowering Farmers as Stewards Tues 10 Dec, 18:00 - 19:30 (room MET-07) Regenerative Agriculture vs. Mechanistic Farming: Building Resilience and Nourishing Communities Wed 11 Dec, 09:00 to 10:30 (room MET-06) Regenerative Agriculture and the Private Sector: Meeting Demand, Combating Food Loss & Waste Wed 11 Dec, 13:00-14.30 (room MET-06) Regenerative Agriculture and Financing the Transition: Mainstreaming Investment for Resilience (Combined with session in MET-06) ➡️ GREEN ZONE (People’s Pavilion) COP16 In partnership with AEON Collective co-founders Princess Noura bint Turki Al-Saud and Princess Mashael AlShalan, and with Imar, Engineering Consultants Consultants Khalid Al Othman, we are co-hosting the following event in the Green Zone: Thu 5 Dec, 10:00 - 12:00 (Green Zone Pavilion 3) Shaping a greener future through carbon markets Thu 5 Dec, 16:00 - 17:00 (Green Zone, People's Pavilion, Science Oasis Tent) Regenerative Agriculture and Forestry Solutions that Prevent and Reverse Desertification, Profitably Sequester Carbon, Improve Food and Water Security, Human Health and Biodiversity, Farmers’ Incomes and Economic Development as well as Innovative Transition Finance Solutions. ➡️ Additional events and details on our website: https://lnkd.in/eRZjgxYx Walter Link Hunter Lovins Helmy Abouleish @Vijay Kumar Thallam Merijn Dols Daniël Povel Ahmed Elshazly Thoraya Seada Justus Harm Economy of Love Renske van Grinsven - Bos Sören Buttkereit

At COP16Riyadh, Walter Link, CEO of NOW Partners Foundation, was honored to speak at the invitation of HH Princess Mashael AlShalan and HH Princess Noura bint Turki Al-Saud, at the session hosted by AEON Collective. The event, "Voices from the Land: Documenting Traditional Knowledge for Sustainable Land Management" was held in the Science-Policy Interface Pavilion, and featured colleagues from the @Oman Botanical Garden. ➡️ Learn more about the AEON Collective's recently launched 'Tree Library': https://lnkd.in/gFgryxzv ➡️ More about the Future Economy Forum events at COP16: https://lnkd.in/gwiRnGaC

NOW Partners Foundation in the Blue Zone at COP16Riyadh: Regenerative Agriculture and Nature-based, Science-backed Innovation: Empowering Farmers as Stewards. Covered for the International Institute for Sustainable Development by Delia Paul. Side event co-hosted with Future Economy Forum, EoL Global, Natural Capitalism Solutions, and SEKEM Group. ➡️ Speakers: Walter Link, President and Founder of NOW, Co-Founder of Economy of Love Global. (moderator) Professor Hunter Lovins, President and Founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions , Author of 19 books, Professor at Fordham University Merijn Dols, Co-Founder of the Future Economy Forum, former Head of Global Innovation and Circularity at Danone Professor Ahmed Elshazly, CEO of Heliopolis University , SEKEM Group Laura Santucci, former Chief of Staff UN World Food Programme WFP and President Obama's White House political operations. ➡️ Key Insights: “Regenerative agriculture combines traditional and new practices to create benefits for people and nature, resulting in increased yields, more nutritious produce, higher household incomes, and increased biodiversity. Speakers and participants at this event cited examples from India and Egypt to illustrate the benefits to farmers: first, from applying regenerative principles; and second, from sale of carbon credits from soil carbon sequestration.” Walter Link: “Desertification occurs not only over large land areas, but also on parts of farmland that are no longer productive, because of the over-use of chemicals. This can be reversed using combinations of traditional methods with new innovations” Hunter Lovins: “Peer-reviewed scientific research shows livestock grazing increases mycorrhizal fungi and promotes soil carbon—a process that is “driving climate change back at a profit”—whereas chemical-based agriculture poisons the fungi and leads to decline in the nutritional value of crops.“ Laura Santucci: “Change happens, not only because of data and evidence, but because science and storytelling together can win over the hearts and minds of policymakers.“ ➡️ Read the full piece: https://lnkd.in/gwC_tEnS Photo by IISD/ENB | Angeles Estrada Vigil

NOW Partners Foundation is honored to collaborate with Imar, Engineering Consultants and Climate Solutions at COP16Riyadh. NOW's CEO Walter Link shared the stage with Eng Khalid Al Othman, President of Imar, Engineering Consultants and Climate Solutions, Helmy Abouleish, CEO SEKEM Group and Thoraya Seada, Economy of Love . In the session "Shaping a Greener Future through Carbon Sequestration and Land Rehabilitation" speakers discussed the important potential of whole system carbon credits for financings of climate solutions and as a systemic model of solutions that support carbon sequestration and reversal of desertification globally. ➡️ Heartfelt thanks to Eng Khalid Al Othman and the Imar team for their partnership and collaboration. ➡️Upcoming in week 2 of COP16 join NOW's Blue Zone official side events: Mon 9 Dec, 11:00-12:30 (room MET-01) Regenerative Agriculture and Nature-based, Science-backed Innovation: Empowering Farmers as Stewards Tues 10 Dec, 18:00 - 19:30 (room MET-07) Regenerative Agriculture vs. Mechanistic Farming: Building Resilience and Nourishing Communities Wed 11 Dec, 09:00 to 10:30 (room MET-06) Regenerative Agriculture and the Private Sector: Meeting Demand, Combating Food Loss & Waste Wed 11 Dec, 13:00-14.30 (room MET-07) Regenerative Agriculture and Financing the Transition: Mainstreaming Investment for Resilience ➡️ Full NOW & Future Economy Forum Schedule: https://lnkd.in/eRZjgxYx #COP16 #RegenerativeValueCreation

NOW Partners Foundation at COP16Riyadh advancing Regenerative Agriculture and Nature-based, Science-backed Innovations: Empowering Farmers as Stewards. Join us Monday Dec 9 for this session in the Blue Zone co-hosted with SEKEM Group, Future Economy Forum, Natural Capitalism Solutions and Economy of Love . ➡️ Session Details: Location: Blue Zone - MET-01 (Area A) Date: Monday, Dec 9 Time: 11:00-12:30 Moderated by Walter Link, NOW Partners Foundation Speakers:  Hunter Lovins, Founder, Natural Capitalism Solutions, Author of 19 books Ahmed Elshazly, @Heliopolis University , @SEKEM Group Laura Santucci, fr. Chief of Staff UN World Food Programme WFP and Obama White House political operations. Merijn Dols, Co-founder, Future Economy Forum, fr. Danone Head of Global Innovation and Circularity Full Future Economy Forum Schedule: https://lnkd.in/eRZjgxYx

Highlights from our first session ‘Shaping a Greener Future through Carbon Sequestration and Land Rehabilitation’ at #UNCCD #COP16_Riyadh, where we discussed groundbreaking topics like carbon markets, afforestation, and agricultural innovations. 🌍 #Imar_Engineering_Consultants

NOW Partners Foundation is honored to join forces with AEON Collective, partnering at COP16Riyadh to advance regenerative agriculture and forestry as key solutions to combat desertification, climate change, and food insecurity. Together, Aeon and NOW co-hosted a Solutions Dialogue Dinner focused on Carbon Credits and a Green Zone session: "Regenerative Agriculture and Forestry Solutions that Prevent and Reverse Desertification" ➡️ Key Insights: Princess Noura bint Turki Al-Saud (Aeon Collective): "As stewards of our planet, we have a shared responsibility to prioritize sustainable land management and resilient food systems... By investing in nature-based solutions and empowering smallholder farmers, we not only address critical challenges but also create a path toward equitable and sustainable growth." Princess Mashael AlShalan (Aeon Collective): “The outcome is quite clear: agriculture is front and center in what we need to address with land degradation, and regenerative agriculture is the only solution. Now it's just a question of how do we ensure that we have the frameworks around them that would enable us to do it and deploy it?” Dr. Eliane Ubalijoro (CIFOR-ICRAF): Dr. Ubalijoro emphasized the importance of connecting farmers to farmers, sharing evidence-based practices. "Science tells a story about what nature has gifted us. We need to quiet our own cleverness and listen to the 3.8 billion years of this beautiful experiment called life." @Aline de Paula (Rabobank): "We need to find innovative finance opportunities to support the transition towards regenerative practices, recognizing that 85% of our portfolio is dependent on ecosystem services." Helmy Abouleish (SEKEM Group): What we experience in Egypt is that organic agriculture is part of the solution of so many of the challenges, also providing better livelihoods and cares for people. What we have already now are solutions. And what we need is mechanisms to put these solutions in place in different contexts and apply them. Walter Link (NOW): "Successful agroecology innovations demonstrate on millions of acres how to prevent and reverse desertification. Combining this with market-based mechanisms such as EoL’s Whole System Carbon Credits, farmers are fairly compensated for their crucial ecosystem services and earn better incomes than with chemical ag." Hunter Lovins (NOW & Global Academy): "The global expansion of regenerative agriculture is a key solution to the desertification and climate crises. Only if we make regenerative agriculture into the new mainstream will countries and companies be able reach their ambitious carbon neutrality goals." Merijn Dols (Future Economy Forum): “Our connection here is on the belief that bringing solution owners together in dialogue, holds a tremendous opportunity and actually is a key to solving these interconnected crises.” ➡️ Learn more: https://lnkd.in/guSsDBHs Fotos by Lobna elshoky and Gulin Olcer 

NOW Partners Foundation’s Co-founder and Chair Walter Link spoke this week for Land Day and Agri-Food Systems days at COP16Riyadh - the UN's Convention to Combat Desertification. The Blue and Green Zone events included “Combating Desertification, Food Insecurity and Climate Change in Arid Environments Globally,” "Voices from the Land: Documenting Traditional Knowledge for Sustainable Land Management" and "Shaping a Greener Future through Carbon Sequestration and Land Rehabilitation" ➡️ Co-hosted by AEON Collective, Imar, Engineering Consultants/Climate Solution, SEKEM Group, Natural Capitalism Solutions, and the Future Economy Forum the events highlighted key points including: ➡️ Regenerative Agriculture is a fundamental solution capable of combating & reversing desertification. ➡️ With regenerative agriculture implementation, multiple crises are addressed: food security is improved, climate change is mitigated and climate resilience increased, in addition to many other benefits to biodiversity, community health and regional development. ➡️Frameworks exist - and are ready to be scaled - that can successfully finance and scale these needed innovations, such as market-based Whole System Carbon Credits as pioneered by the Economy of Love in Egypt and beyond. Thank you to the stellar speakers including: HH Princess Mashael AlShalan (AEON Collective) Eng Khalid Al Othman, Imar, Engineering Consultants / Climate Solutions Helmy Abouleish (SEKEM Group, Co-Chair EoL Global) Thoraya Seada (Heliopolis University) Banan Othman Aline Fernanda de Paula (Rabobank) ➡️ Check out the full Future Economy Forum Schedule: https://lnkd.in/eRZjgxYx Photo credit: Lobna elshoky

🌍 Join us today at 10:00 AM in the Green Zone, Pavilion 3 – inside Area 3 We’ll dive into carbon sequestration and, carbon credits and land rehabilitation. Don’t miss this vital discussion! 💚 #Carbon_Sequestration #LandRehabilitation #COP16_Riyadh

NOW Partners Foundation and Patagonia at ISPO MUNICH! Packed house to hear Hunter Lovins, (NOW), Beth Thoren (Patagonia) and Laura Santucci (Future Economy Forum) for the session "Power of the Community." How can businesses harness the untapped power of community to drive regeneration of people and planet while growing successful companies? Insights from the speakers: ➡️ Beth Thoren (Patagonia): “$380bn was the cost of climate change to the global north last year. It is affecting our businesses now... We're here because what Patagonia does on its own doesn't matter. If we can get other businesses in the outdoor sector and the sports sector to engage with communities and to use their voice and positively lobby for stronger regulations to protect our planet, then together we could make the change we need to make." ➡️ Hunter Lovins (NOW Partners) "Creating regenerative value is simply better business. However to make this the new normal, industries and communities have to innovate in their relationships, business models, products and services.” ➡️ Laura Santucci, (Future Economy Forum), and formerly of the Obama White House, discussed the role of building trust first when thinking about community. “Business is part of community. Not outside of it,” Santucci commented. "The power of community can yield results that benefit more than one interest. In fact, they can be mutually reinforcing when the trust and collaboration is real."