Olympic Forests Network – framework for nature restoration supported by the International Olympic Committee
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Slovenian Olympic Forest
NOC of Slovenia
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched its Olympic Forest project in 2021, aiming to contribute to the Great Green Wall – a project restoring degraded landscapes across the Sahel region. The project sought to plant 590,000 native trees across Mali and Senegal, in the lead up to the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games, aiming to create social, economic, and environmental benefits for local communities that are heavily impacted by climate change. Following interest expressed by several National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in expanding the initiative through similar projects in their own countries, in order to contribute to a wider global programme, the IOC launched the Olympic Forest Network in 2022. To ensure that projects joining the Network are of high quality, the IOC has established a set of principles that these projects - ranging from the restoration of existing forests, wildlife corridors, and coastal watersheds, to the promotion of regenerative agriculture - need to comply with.
Last update: 11 Jun 2024
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Context
Challenges addressed
Environmental challenges addressed by the Olympic Forest Network project include deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The six current projects are all reforestation or afforestation initiatives, with most seeking to address issues relating to loss of habitat and biodiversity by planting native tree species, but also by implementing education and engagement activities. Using sport as a vehicle for raising awareness of environmental issues underpins most of the projects.
Social and economic challenges are also addressed as some forests are being planted to provide the local communities with possible food and income sources; food from the forests’ produce and income from selling non-timber produce.
Increasing the credibility of the Olympic Movement’s environmental projects is a core challenge addressed by the Network. By establishing common sustainability principles, the Network seeks to increase the credibility, relevance, and success of nature restoration projects across the Olympic Movement.
Location
India
Slovenia
Spain
Papua New Guinea
Portugal
Brazil
South America
South Asia
West and South Europe
Oceania
Process
Summary of the process
Designing and implementing the initial Olympic Forest project in Mali and Senegal formed an important blueprint for expanding the IOC’s Olympic Forest initiative to the National Olympic Committees. This project helped establish an initial framework and best practices for subsequent projects to follow and formed the basis for establishing the subsequent principles that both guide NOC-led projects and determine their acceptance into the Olympic Forest Network.
Expanding the original Forest to incorporate other NOC-led projects affords NOCs the opportunity to design and lead their own projects, whilst remaining true to the IOC’s vision. This favours local expertise, governance, and ownership of environmental projects across the Olympic Movement, and helps expand the original project idea globally. This effectively enables the original project to move from the single Olympic Forest to a network of Olympic Forests around the world. Affording NOCs the possibility to lead and implement their own projects facilitates greater engagement with local stakeholders, while requiring NOC-led projects to engage with local communities and relevant experts, encourages the development of partnerships between NOCs and nature conservation organisations.
Building Blocks
Building block 1 – Using an existing initiative (the Olympic Forest) as a blueprint for National Olympic Commit-tees to initiate their own nature restoration projects.
The IOC’s Olympic Forest project – a reforestation initiative launched in Mali and Senegal – generated interest from National Olympic Committees, who expressed their wishes to take action against climate change and to implement similar projects in their own countries.
Following this interest, the IOC launched the Olympic Forest Network, where NOCs could build on the original Olympic Forest project by designing and implementing their own initiatives to restore existing forests, wildlife corridors, coastal watersheds, and ecosystems, as well as implement regenerative agriculture projects.
The Network builds on, and expands, the IOC’s Olympic Forest initiative, helping to profile Olympic Movement’s work that contributes to fighting climate change and conserving nature. It recognises local projects delivered by NOCs according to best practices and within the IOC’s framework. The IOC provides support to NOCs (guidance, technical advice for the application to the network, workshops, webinars and in some cases funding), receives their projects and assesses them using specific criteria. Thanks to its offices located worldwide, IUCN helps the IOC in providing technical feedback about the projects, carrying out field visits and reviewing the technical documentation provided by the NOCs.
Enabling factors
- The IOC’s initial design and implementation of a reforestation project
- National Olympic Committees’ interest in environmental work
- The original implementing organisation’s (i.e. IOC) desire to expand its original project and support the organisations driving these secondary projects
- The collaborative spirit encouraged by the Olympic Movement and facilitated by the IOC’s organisational structure (NOCs as constituents of the Olympic Movement under the leadership of the IOC)
- Good communication between the IOC and NOCs
Lesson learned
The establishment of clear guidelines and criteria for this type of initiative is essential to avoid the multiplication of low-quality projects with low added value and benefits for nature conservation and local communities. Leading by example in this field helps to drive the Olympic Movement into proper planning and proper allocation.
Building block 2 – Establishing principles for admitting National Olympic Committees’ projects to the Olympic Forest network
The IOC’s Executive Board approved several principles that NOCs would have to meet to join the Olympic Forest Network.
To have their project included in the Network, an NOC is required to submit details for the IOC’s review and approval, based on these specific criteria/principles. The review process is coordinated together with environmental experts who provide their feedback to the NOC and have the possibility to carry out field visit whenever relevant.
Projects are required to:
- Contribute to enhancing climate and nature protection and resilience;
- Support and be delivered in partnership with local communities;
- Be developed and implemented in collaboration with the relevant experts and authorities; and
- Have a long-term maintenance plan in place.
These principles help guide NOCs in the creation of their projects and ensure that all projects that are part of the Network are contribution to climate action and nature protection. The principles also ensure that projects possess certain characteristics and collaborative structures that are to ensure local impact and projects’ long-term viability.
Enabling factors
- Knowledge and understanding of factors that are important for designing and implementing successful nature restoration projects.
- IOC’s practical experience with the implementation of the Olympic Forest project.
- Collaboration between sport and nature conservation experts.
Lesson learned
Having principles “on paper” does not automatically mean that they will be perfectly implemented and adhered to by the NOCs from the very beginning.
The application process to this initiative is a learning and improvement path where NOCs, under the guidance of the IOC and of environmental experts, can be guided to ultimately comply with all the requirements of the initiative and to create and implement high quality projects with tangible added value and shared benefits for the ecosystems and the local communities.
Building block 3 – Embracing local expertise, governance, and ownership of projects
While following the direction and guidance of the IOC, NOCs are best placed to design and implement projects complying with the IOC’s global standards at local level. This means that the IOC can support and promote environmental projects, while benefiting from expertise that the NOCs can provide in the local context through. This implementation method not only promotes local solutions to global problems, but also increases local ownership, empowers local communities, and promotes cooperation between sports, local environmental groups and indigenous peoples.
In Brazil, for example, the “Brazil Olympic Committee Olympic Forest” project aims to restore a damaged part of the Tefé National Forest in the Amazon and is executed together with the Mamirauá Institute of Sustainable Development. Besides restoration, the project’s objective is to reinforce the sustainable use of the forest by the local community through planting key species such as Brazilian chestnut and açaí or providing training to the local community.
Training and upskilling of local communities (on mangrove planting/rehabilitation) is one of the main objectives also of the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee’s “Love Your Coast Project” where they aim to train “Love Your Coast Champions”, who are to lead small conservation projects in their communities
Enabling factors
As leader of the Olympic Movement, the IOC is responsible for coordinating relations and actions of all members of the Olympic Movement, including the National Olympic Committees. This ensures that projects and actions can be designed and implemented according to consistent regulations or guidelines, enabling continuity and best practice across the Olympic Movement’s environmental activities.
Lesson learned
While it was important to set up general criteria that all projects would need to comply with to ensure consistency and high quality, providing NOCs with the flexibility to reflect local context and its particular risks and opportunities in how they approach the criteria proved to be equally vital.
Building block 4 – Cooperation between NOCs and local nature conservation organisations as a prerequisite for success
The IOC requires that all Olympic Forest Network projects “be developed and implemented in collaboration with the relevant experts and authorities.” All six projects that are currently part of the Network not only take this requirement into account but establish it as a corner stone of their implementation.
For example, the Papua New Guinea project involves a partnership between the NOC, local communities, the National Fisheries Authority, and the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority. The Slovenian project is partnered with the Slovenian State Forestry Company; the Spanish with the Ministry of the Environment and the Federation of Spanish Municipalities; while the Portuguese project has the technical support of the governmental Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF) and the Abramud e Sentido Verde association.
Requiring partnerships between NOCs and environment experts ensures that projects running under the Olympic Forest Network are as relevant and effective as can be with regards to nature conservation. Partnering with local experts and organisations also ensures that the Network can have meaningful impact not only on the environment, but also on the local communities where projects are run. Moreover, it facilitates local interest in, and ownership of, environmental work.
Enabling factors
- Criteria set by the IOC requiring NOC-led projects seeking to be a part of the Olympic Forest Network “to be developed and implemented in collaboration with relevant experts and authorities”.
- Local organisations’ environmental knowledge and expertise.
- Interest of local environmental organisations in the (communications and engagement) potential of the Olympic Movement.
Lesson learned
Providing basic standards and guidelines helped the NOCs find the right partners and (business) solutions locally. Thanks to this local approach, NOCs could be guided by national/local experts to find the best solution in terms of added value for ecosystems and local communities.
Impacts
Creating sustainable, well-managed forests is crucial to capturing carbon from the atmosphere, helping communities adapt to the effects of climate change and protecting biodiversity.
Through the Network, thousands of trees and seeds – mostly native species – have been planted, supporting ecological restoration and helping to improve and maintain endemic biodiversity and natural habitats. The Slovenian Olympic Forest planted some 16,000 seedlings, the Portuguese 10,811 with a possible 30,000 more seedlings planted with their partner, while the Spanish and Indian initiatives are aiming to plant 5,000 and 1 million trees respectively. Community-based forest management is also central to the Indian project, helping to generate alternative income sources and provide new opportunities to local communities.
The Network allows the IOC to establish a framework where NOC reforestation projects are aligned with its project implementation’s standards. Establishing common principles increases the credibility of reforestation projects and ensures that project design and implementation are consistent across the Olympic Movement whilst also promoting partnership-building between NOCs and local environmental experts or organisations. Engaging local stakeholders facilitates the rollout of the initiatives, increases the potential for collaboration and helps with communication across both in and outside the sport sector.
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries include the local communities where the trees are planted, the parties involved in the tree planting (athletes, sports clubs, local citizens/authorities), environmental organisations delivering the projects, and the natural environment itself.
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 1 – No poverty
SDG 2 – Zero hunger
SDG 3 – Good health and well-being
SDG 5 – Gender equality
SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth
SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities
SDG 13 – Climate action
SDG 14 – Life below water
SDG 15 – Life on land
SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals
Story
The 'Odisha Ridley Forest' is a visionary ecological restoration initiative embarked upon through a collaborative effort by the National Olympic Committee of India, the Odisha Government, the Abhinav Bindra Foundation, and The Habitats Trust.
Spanning 1,500 hectares, this initiative aims to fight against climate change, restore nature, and create green jobs for local communities. It embodies Odisha's commitment to environmental preservation and the universal values of sportsmanship. But this project is more than just ecological restoration; it's a reflection of Odisha's broader vision that sees sport as a catalyst for youth empowerment.
Through 'Odisha Ridley Forest,' Odisha seeks to nurture a generation of environmentally conscious and physically fit youth who will be the stewards of their planet's future. The project's name “Odisha Ridley Forest” represents the synergy between environmental conservation and sportsmanship. ‘Olly the Olive Ridley Turtle’ is the sport mascot of Odisha. It symbolizes Odisha's dedication to not only preserving its natural heritage but also harnessing the power of sport to inspire young minds towards a greener and more sustainable tomorrow.
In this endeavour, the partners aim to set an example for the world, demonstrating that sport can play a pivotal role in shaping not only athletic champions but also responsible global citizens who actively contribute to mitigating climate change and preserving our precious ecosystems. 'Odisha Ridley Forest' is a testament to India’s commitment to nurturing the youth for a better, more sustainable future.
“As a proud Olympian, I see the 'Odisha Ridley Forest' as a remarkable testament to the harmonious convergence of sport and environmental stewardship. This visionary initiative not only symbolizes Odisha's dedication to ecological restoration but also underscores the transformative power of sport in shaping a sustainable future. By uniting the Olympic movement with the noble cause of environmental preservation, we are not just planting trees; we are sowing seeds of inspiration, cultivating a generation of environmentally conscious youth who will champion the cause of our planet. The 'Odisha Ridley Forest' exemplifies our shared commitment to creating a greener, more resilient world, where sport serves as a catalyst for positive change, both on and off the field."
Abhinav Bindra, Olympic Gold medallist and founder of the Abhinav Bindra Foundation.
