Applications Invited for Global Disruptive Tech Challenge 2021

Follow us @ngobox

About the Organization:

Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, dedicated to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement. The Forum takes a holistic approach to create sustainable landscapes that are productive, prosperous, equitable and resilient and considers five cohesive themes of food and livelihood initiatives, landscape restoration, rights, finance and measuring progress. It is led by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), in collaboration with its co-founders UNEP and the World Bank and Charter Members.

Global Disruptive Tech Challenge 2021: Restoring Landscapes in the Aral Sea Region

The Global Disruptive Tech Challenge 2021 aims to identify and support disruptive technologies and innovative approaches to landscape restoration in the Aral Sea region and Central Asia. The Challenge will select innovators (individuals or entities) from around the world to change the lives of millions of people in the Aral Sea region. Proposals obtaining the best scores will obtain recognition and awards in the form of cash and/or in-kind.

This is your opportunity to help change millions of lives, while showcasing your innovative idea before a global audience. Join the Challenge, get recognition from experts and international organizations, and become part of a restoration community

Focus Themes

Land resources, along with other natural resources, are the foundation of existence and development of mankind. Despite the unconditional importance of land resources for human and societal well-being, the amount of land which is characterized by a decrease or complete loss of its biological and economic productivity continues to increase. This happens due to a number of factors, including unsustainable agricultural and forestry practices, climate change, urban sprawl, infrastructure development, and a mining boom.

This Challenge evolves around four focus themes:

• Agriculture and land management: Solutions that contribute to sustainable development, e.g. sustainable land management, irrigated and rainfed agriculture, grazing land/pastures, water saving and irrigation, and cost-effective technologies to rehabilitate degraded lands.
• Sustainable forestry: This section refers to the disruptive technologies and innovations for sustainable forestry, as well as solutions within the forestry supply chain, to preserve biological diversity, productivity, resilience, viability and the ability of forests to perform important environmental, economic and social functions.
• Socio-economic development: Focuses on solutions that link local communities with innovations for landscape restoration; e.g. improvement of current livelihoods and creating new livelihoods; cooperation and social sustainability; tourism, well-being, public health and other innovative financial and economic instruments, enabling communities to improve their welfare while restoring the landscape.
• Information and knowledge: Landscape restoration solutions that leverage data, remote sensing and mapping technologies, precise agriculture tools, and computing power to enable data-driven decisions by policy makers, public agencies, private service providers, and other users of the landscape.

Eligibility Criteria

This Challenge is open to participants (“Contestant”) from member countries of the World Bank. Contestants may be individuals or organizations (profit, non-profit organizations, academia). Contestants are responsible for compliance with legal requirements of their country. They are invited to pitch their solutions on innovative landscape restoration. Also, solutions at minimum viable products (MVP) to more developed stages (e.g. already fully commercialized) are eligible for the challenge.

Also, only solutions that are at minimum viable product (MVP) stage to more developed stages (e.g. already fully commercialized) are eligible for the challenge. The submitted proposal can be part of different focus themes (e.g. Agriculture – Area 1- and Information & Knowledge – Area 4).

The Challenge is open for both international and Central Asian participants

Individuals:

• Individuals must be of a minimum of 18 years old as of (date of submission)
• An individual or a team may submit entries. Individuals who join teams must meet the eligibility requirements for Individual Contestants
• Any national from a Bank member country can participate

Companies, Organizations, Startups:

• Must be legally established entities (profit, non-profit) in their respective countries

Please share your questions with Balzhan Zhumagazina: zhumagazina@dku.kz with subject “Challenge Q&A”.

Deadline: January 15, 2021, at 11:59 PM CET.

For more information please check the Link