[2] The centre specializes in the sustainable management, protection and regulation of tropical rainforest and natural reserves.
It is one of 15 agricultural research centres which makes up the global network known as the CGIAR.
The centre conducts research in agroforestry, in partnership with national agricultural research systems with a view to developing more sustainable and productive land use.
The focus of its research is countries/regions in the developing world, particular in the tropics of Central and South America, Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Africa, Eastern Africa and parts of central Africa.
In 2017, ICRAF released a study at the UN Climate Change Conference that centers on agroforestry and the emission of carbons from deforestation.