September 29, 2014

Unraveling the ‘Landscape Approach’—Are We on the Right Track?

Roderick Zagt, Tropenbos International Nick Pasiecznik, ILEIA

“We know what needs to done, and how, but we are not sure how to explain it”—this was the predominant sentiment that lingered after the seminar ‘Unraveling the landscape approach – are we on the right track?‘ held in Wageningen, the Netherlands on 17 September 2014. Four presenters and three panelists tried their hand at understanding the now-popular concept of the landscape approach—what is it, what’s new compared to earlier and similar ideas of integrated land management, and how can it be made to work for the benefit of people and the planet?

The 225-strong audience learned that the term ‘landscape’ entered the English language in 1598, borrowed from Dutch as a painters’ term. Only much later the term was applied to what we now understand as landscapes and what the European Landscape Convention defines as “an area as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of nature and/or human factors.”

This definition was the focus of much discussion: the landscape is in the eye of the beholder. Each stakeholder perceives the landscape in a different way, whether this is informed by economic, cultural, social, or ecological motives. And, as several presenters highlighted, the number of beholders who have a stake in and a view on landscapes at a global level is increasing, and their claims are rising. The expectations that we have of our rural environment and the challenges that must simultaneously be met, while climate change, food security, conservation, economic livelihoods are rising concomitantly. The urgency of managing landscapes sustainably and equitably is growing, and this urgency is increasingly felt by policy makers, companies, and civil society.

ZagtTropicalLandscapePath

The road to the landscape approach is winding. Photo by Tropenbos International.

We know what needs to be done

The landscape approach is often touted as a solution. We need to break out of narrow sectoral approaches; consider the multiple functions of landscapes; engage local land users in identifying problems, making decisions, following up and monitoring; and we must consider scale, from households to the national and even global level, each in its own merit. We must move away from dichotomous world views: as Meine van Noordwijk (ICRAF) put it, we know that that forests and farms occur as mosaics, so we must acknowledge this in our policies and practices. Edith van Walsum (ILEIA) stated that farmers and local landholders are key, whether they are custodians of degraders—they must be involved. This requires investing in the capacities and institutions of farmers and foresters and giving them a place at the table where decisions are made.

But we don’t have a language for it

At the same time, the audience was baffled by the multitude of terms that describe roughly similar concepts and ideas of integrated landscape management, and the failure of researchers and thinkers to reach out to policy makers and actors—such as the private sector—with clear guidance on what to achieve and how. According to the chair Agnes van Ardenne, former Minister of Development Cooperation, “We are moving in the right direction, but we are trying to shoot a moving target.” René Boot (Tropenbos International) noted the absence of a clear understanding how to measure success in landscape approaches, and for whom. This prevents landscape actors and researchers from understanding precisely what works and what doesn’t, and what progress is being made. There are also huge challenges for research, commented James Reed (CIFOR)—high costs make most research small scale and short term, and far from what is needed to seriously evaluate the landscape approach. Ingrid Duchhart pointed out that we can learn from looking back to a wealth of past landscape-level projects that provide a rich source for evaluating what went right, what went wrong, and what should be done better. Talk of win-win or even triple-win solutions may be rash, even in the face of a history of lose-lose solutions. We don’t exactly know in what terms we must measure such solutions, but reality tells us that there will always be trade-offs.

Are we on the right track?

Whereas there is recognition of what is needed—and governments, donors, and researchers are rallying around the landscape approach—more is needed, according to the panelists. We must operationalize the principles that underlie the landscape approach and scale up the efforts, says Koen Kusters of Wereld in Woorden. And, we should not shy away from radical action—we need to mobilize farmers, foresters, and consumers to take the action that is needed and at the scale that is required. Also, we must be radical in merging agricultural and forestry agendas.

In summary, it was good to see landscape architects, rural development specialists, and researchers sharing their experiences both in the sessions and in the breaks, though many did find ‘nothing new’ and ‘a lack of concrete policy options.’ So whereas the landscape approach was not entirely unraveled during the afternoon, some of the knots were undone and others still require unpicking.

More about the seminar: The meeting was chaired by Agnes van Ardenne, Chair of Landschappen NL and former Minister for Development Cooperation in the Netherlands government. Speakers and panel members included René Boot (Tropenbos International), Jeff Campbell (FAO), Ingrid Duchhart (WUR), Koen Kusters (WiW), James Reed (CIFOR), Meine van Noordwijk (ICRAF), and Edith van Walsum (ILEIA). ‘Unraveling the Landscape Approach’ was organized by Tropenbos International with ILEIA – Centre for learning on sustainable agriculture, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Utrecht University, the Dutch Society of Tropical Forests, and the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For more information, contact Herman Savenije, herman.savenije@tropenbos.org, +31 317702024.

No comments

  • Emilio de los Ríos
    September 30, 2014 at 5:01pm

    For landscape aproach to be succesfull in rural development, we need to find the history of people, policies and other stakeholders to shape the current landscape, and find insights for the future in what has to be modified.