Following the major injection of funding from the German government during the , the GLF moved to establish a more permanent presence in Bonn, Germany. While the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) was held in Bonn the same year from November 6–17, 2017, the Global Landscapes Forum event took place just over a month later on December 19–20, 2017. This marked the first year that the GLF existed as its own entity and not as a COP side event. For the first time, the Wangari Maathai Forest Champion Award was presented at the GLF.