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Speakers prepared more than 80 presentations for the 2015 Global Landscapes Forum. Here are the top 5, based on online views and downloads. 5. CIFOR’s REDD+ research   4. Climate change and land rights of indigenous peoples   3. The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity for agriculture and food   2. Governance, rights and the […]

Progress made towards creating sustainable practices around palm oil production won’t succeed without efforts in parallel to ensure supply chain transparency, experts at the Global Landscapes Forum have advised. ‘Up to 60% of palm oil companies are committed to sustainable practices, but there is a long way to go,’ said Annisa Rahmawati, a Forest Campaigner […]

Most people working in sustainable development are familiar with the ‘tragedy of the commons’ referring to when a group of individuals, all acting independently and in their own self-interest, deplete common resources to the detriment of a larger group. In the case of land, this means more depleted and degraded landscapes. But what if someone […]

When it comes to development and indigenous peoples, the story we so often hear is one of exploitation and conflict. At the Global Landscapes Forum – which ran in parallel with the climate summit in Paris in December – there were glimmers of a very different story emerging. At a discussion forum on Indigenous Peoples’ […]

What is the future for Indonesia and its landscapes?  The country is at an extraordinary moment.  Under the new populist government of Joko Widodo, huge areas of the country’s state lands, including some of the world’s largest remaining tropical rainforests and peatlands, may change hands in the next few years. Meanwhile, the recent forest fires […]

The performance of the REDD+ program, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, has been put under the spotlight recently. It’s celebrity is not only for its progress in reducing deforestation, but also because of the challenges the program faces in ensuring that its benefits are distributed equitably, effectively, and efficiently. At a special session of […]

$30 billion dollars. That is the total negative economic impact of this year’s forest fires in Indonesia. These costs do not hit Indonesia alone—Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and even the Philippines have been affected, according to data presented by Herry Purnomo, Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research and Professor at Bogor Agricultural University. “In fact, 43 million people […]

During the Global Landscapes Forum’s first Pecha Kucha Style Night, seven presenters took the stage to share their stories in a new format. Each presenter could use 20 slides, for 20 seconds each – no breaks, no opportunity to switch between slides. Slides were restricted to images and graphs only, avoiding long texts and endless […]

“It takes just one road to destroy a forest.” David Cooper, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Several multi-lateral agreements on climate change include the issue of deforestation as a critical component of strategies aimed at reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. The Strategic Plan for Aichi Biodiversity Targets Convention calls for halving the rate of deforestation by […]

In Paris I bought an apple for 50 cents. I paid both for the apple and the chain of actions that brought it to me; the growing of the apple, the transport of the apple, and the sale of the apple. By the end of the chain growers of some products may receive only 1-2% […]

Predicting the future isn’t easy, just ask the makers of Back to the Future II. Their leftfield vision of 2015 from the ‘80s amused the internet for days earlier this year. However, our generation’s prediction of the next 30 years has much higher stakes attached. In 2050 we’ll have over 9 billion people to feed […]

More than 150 organizations joined forces for the 2015 Global Landscapes Forum – not only for the days of the event, but all year round through partners’ blogs and opinion pieces on landscapes.org See some of the most popular ones below: 5. Frank Hajek, Nature Services Peru – The Missing Middle: why market-based-efforts to sustain […]

The 2015 Global Landscapes Forum brought together more than 250 speakers in 40+ sessions. Only two weeks after the event, videos have been watched more than 15,000 times. See the five most popular ones below: 5. Summary video: A Collection of Connections   4. Mark Burrows Closing Keynote   3. Pecha Kucha Style Night: Stories […]

‪At the heart of the landscape approach is the idea that everything is connected. Natural resources, biodiversity, ecosystem services and the actions of various people all influence each other and their larger context. Mindful interventions, those that are designed to be sustainable in the long term, take this interdependence into account. That’s why a successful […]

True or false?: Extraction of wood energy is a threat to forested landscapes. Extraction of wood energy is an opportunity for forested landscapes.  That was the opening question at a discussion forum on sustainable wood energy at the Global Landscapes Forum held on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Paris. The mixed responses […]