Earth is in a land degradation crisis. If we were to take the roughly one-third of the world’s land that has been degraded from its natural state and combine it into a single entity, these “Federated States of Degradia” would have a landmass bigger than Russia and a population of more than 3 billion, largely […]
Integrated planning for sustainable development gets more complicated as you move toward population centers, but it also gets more critical. Last year at the 12th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Degradation, I heard a number of examples, especially during a series of side events held in the Rio Conventions Pavilion, of […]
The first ‘element’ in integrated landscape management laid out in the Little Sustainable Landscapes Book is ‘establishing a multi-stakeholder platform’. There has been a lot of discussion about how to organize and convene these platforms: how to make sure the right people are involved so that decisions will be considered legitimate and be impactful. But […]
It has taken a long time to admit it, but after two decades farming and sustainability projects, I realized landscape sustainability is no longer just a technical, scientific or even political problem. It has evolved into a so-called wicked problem of governance and economics. Not evil wicked, but wicked as an on-going social problem with […]
The rapid rise of interest and action in integrated landscape management in the last few years has exceeded anything I had anticipated. While the environmental community was earliest to recognize the necessity of coordinating strategies with other sectors, the agribusiness and food sectors are rapidly innovating towards landscape partnerships; farmer organizations are beginning to take […]
CIFOR scientists James Reed and Josh Van Vianen explain why policy makers tackling climate and development goals need to be aware of how all sectors affect each other.
CATIE is an implementing partner of this year’s Global Landscape Forum, hosting a discussion forum that deals with Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), together with the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture (AIRCA). Under the title Climate Smart Agriculture for healthy landscapes and livelihoods, CATIE and AIRCA want to show where and how CSA approaches have contributed to […]
This is a big year for the planet. Just look at the United Nations’ calendar. Just last week, the global community saw the launch of the U.N.’s new and ambitious 15-year Sustainable Development Goals. And in December, leaders will be convening at the U.N.’s Conference of Parties (COP) 21 in Paris with the hopes of […]
MYscape – YOURscape – OURscape: exploring the relationship of landscape and democracy Register now to be part of the Online Seminar on Landscape Democracy 2015. The European Landscape Convention asks its signatory parties “to establish procedures for the participation of the general public, local and regional authorities, and other parties with an interest in the […]
Wageningen University, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the World Agroforestry Centre have designed a 2-week course on landscape management. Towards innovative arrangements for inclusive decision making at landscape level, is the title of the international course for forest and nature management professionals. Scholarships are available for applicants before 20 October 2015. Where: Bogor, […]
For the first time, the Association of International Research and Development Centres (AIRCA), is an implementing partner of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF). Formation of AIRCA in 2012 was stimulated by the need for integrated action to deliver sustainable agricultural intensification at a landscape scale. AIRCA is a nine-member alliance of international research and development […]
In London on 10 June 2015, a variety of representatives of the finance community rubbed shoulders with anthropologists, foresters, NGOs and government representatives at the Global Landscapes Forum: The Investment Case. The event was part of a growing multistakeholder movement that seeks to harness the influence of the financial sector to transform rural landscapes. As […]
This past April, a team of ecosystem management practitioners came together in Nairobi, Kenya. Their mission? To put the Ecosystem Management of Productive Landscapes project on the map. Demand for food, energy, and fiber is projected to increase 40-60%, a strain on industry and agriculture that will also be exacerbated by stresses from climate change. Considering the future of […]
