This document summarizes a project inception workshop on operationalizing landscape approaches for biodiversity benefits in policy, practice, and with local stakeholders. It discusses CIFOR's longstanding focus on landscape-scale research and the origins of the landscape approach concept. The project aims to address gaps between strong theory and weak implementation of landscape approaches. It will facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue across scales to empower marginalized groups and test approaches to reduce conflicts like between charcoal production and forest conservation. The project is implemented through stakeholder consultation, capacity building, pilot testing, and policy recommendations working with government, NGO, and research partners in Zambia.

1. Operationalising the landscape
approach for biodiversity
benefits:
Policy, practice and people
Project Inception Workshop
Choma, Zambia
3-4 May 2019

2. Landscapes have been central to CIFOR’s research strategy:
Central to CIFOR’s Strategy since 1993:
 Landscapes for Sustainable Livelihoods (LIV)
 Biodiversity in Fragmented Landscapes (ENV)
 Managing conservation and development trade-offs at the landscape scale
(Domain 4)
 Landscape Management, ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation and
livelihoods (Component 3)
 Sustainable landscapes and food systems
• Adaptive collaborative management
• “Landscape Mosaics” – SDC (with ICRAF)
• Landscape principles and guidelines
• Global Landscapes Forum
• Systematic reviews

3. The origin of the “landscape approach”
1980s 1990s 2000s 2010 - present
1980s: Integrated
Rural
Development
1998: Integrated Natural
Resource Management
(INRM)
1985 onwards: Integrated
Conservation & Development
projects (ICDPs)
Contributing Sciences:
Ecosystem Management
Landscape Ecology
Island biogeography
Conservation rooted
frameworks e.g. “Ecosystem
Approach”
1983: “Landscape Approach”
first documented (Noss,
BioScience)
Last decade:
(Integrated) Landscape
Approach frameworks

5. “A review of 15
Integrated Conservation
and Development
Projects in Asia who
said they were working
at the landscape scale
were in fact primarily
focused on protected
areas.”

6. Systematic reviews
• Identified major gaps in our
understanding of
implementation of landscape
approaches
• Yet pervasive narrative
continued to promote
“landscapes as a solution”…
but to what?
• Research not informing rhetoric
• SDG’s provide opportunity for
addressing development role of
forests in landscapes

7. “We conclude that landscape approaches are a welcome departure from
previous unsuccessful attempts at reconciling conservation and
development in the tropics but, despite claims to the contrary, remain
nascent in both their conceptualization and implementation”. (Reed et
al. 2017)

10. Operationalising the landscape approach:
From theory to practice
THEORY & POLICY
PRACTICE:
Integration &
evaluation
Local stakeholders:
NGO’s; CSO’s
Local communities
Private sector
Local government
Drivers:
Researchers
Policy makers
Central government

11. This IKI project
• Concept first submitted
in May 2015
• Invited to re-submit in
2016
• Full proposal
development through
2017
• Continued refinement
to June 2018 when
project commenced

12. Approach and target groups
• Proposed approach is
“bottom up”, which will
involve government and
civil society and local
communities,.
• The primary targets are
multi-stakeholder platforms
across multiple scales
through wards, district and
province to national level

13. Project objectives
• To address gaps between strong scientific theory and
weak implementation
• To facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue to benefit actors
across multiple sectors and decision-making scales
• Raise awareness of the value of biological diversity in
complex landscapes to inform national policies
• To empower marginalized groups to effectively
participate in decision-making processes
• To test the extent to which implementation of landscape
approaches can reduce the conflict between charcoal
production (for example) and other forest uses

14. Project is implemented through
four Work Packages
• WP1: Multi-stakeholder consultation
• WP2: Building capacity to implement
landscape approaches to integrated
management
• WP3: Pilot testing of integrated landscapes
approaches
• WP4: National and global policy
recommendations

15. Policy framework
Laws and regulations that support the implementation of
landscape approaches in Zambia include:
• National Forestry Policy of 2014
• Forests Act of 2015
• National REDD Strategy
• Climate Change Policy
• Decentralisation Policy
• Urban and Regional Planning Act of 2015
• National Guidelines for Community Forestry of 2018
• Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change
• Folklore Act 2016

16. Implementation partners
Forestry Department
• Ensures the project becomes part of the inter-ministerial
committee on climate change
• Promote the project at all levels of government
• Access data and information from other departments,
including forest and land use data
CBNRM
• Promote the implementation of landscape approaches for
conservation, livelihoods and adaptation to climate
change, biodiversity conservation, democracy and
governance
• Outreach through Forum members

17. Research partners
Centre for International Forest Research
• Overall project management and coordination
• Budgets and finance
University of Amsterdam
• Supervision of four PhD students, including two for
Zambia
• Lead on governance aspects of research
University of British Columbia
• Supervision of graduate students (both PhD and
Masters)
• Remote sensing support
• Scientific advisory role

18. Great opportunity…
• To challenge the project implementation paradigm;
moving from “project” to “process”
• Facilitating empowerment and knowledge sharing
• Building on existing networks and previous research
• To understand and monitor change in ever-changing,
dynamic landscapes
• Formal capacity building through student engagement
• To do cool stuff – photovoice, drone mapping,
landscape games – while keeping people engaged
• To provide much needed leadership in implementing
“landscape approaches”

19. Getting the message out

21. Thank you!