Book launch – Climate Smart Landscapes: Multifunctionality in Practice

Today marks the launch of Climate Smart Landscapes: Multifunctionality in Practice at the Global Landscapes Forum in Peru. 

This 27-chapter book, led by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICARF) brings together research and case studies by more than 80 authors on the tools, methods and pathways used to create sustainable multi-functional landscapes.

Bioversity International scientists Fabrice DeClerck and Natalia Estrada-Carmona have also contributed a chapter in collaboration with researchers from the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative. Chapter 7: “Integrated landscape initiatives in practice: assessing experiences from 191 landscapes in Africa and Latin America” is a comparative analysis that builds on two existing reviews of landscape initiatives in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The chapter provides a synthesis of some of the key findings in both regions, and highlights future policies, investments and activities needed to support landscape approaches globally. 

Integrated landscape initiatives are those that try to address multiple objectives for multiple benefits at a landscape scale. A key challenge, which is supported by the chapter’s findings, is how to get different stakeholder groups, who often have different interests, to work together. Another persistent struggle is longevity, many initiatives lack sustainable funding or strong enough institutions that can outlast project duration. Nevertheless, practitioners recognize that landscape approaches can help solve problems that cannot be solved through more traditional sector-based or single-scale interventions.

Read more about how, why and in what context integrated landscape initiatives are taking place in Africa and Latin America:

Chapter 7 - Integrated landscape initiatives in practice: assessing experiences from 191 landscapes in Africa and Latin America is available free with the entire publication.