The Landscape Approach

Moving towards sustainable land use patterns

Commentary Report March 2016

Moving Towards a Landscape Approach approaches attempt to overcome traditional land-

management boundaries and consider land-use decisions
Most societies are now experiencing the pressure of and interventions in a more holistic way. Forests are
balancing environmental conservation with satisfying understood to be a part of landscapes with diverse, and
the needs of growing human populations. With over 7 sometimes conflicting, purposes. A landscape approach
billion people living on the planet, demands for food, fuel challenges forest managers to consider a broad range of
and fibre continue to grow. The United Nations expects sectors and stakeholders in decision-making processes.
that food production will have to increase by 60 per cent
to meet the needs of 9.3 billion people by the middle According to experts at the Centre for International
of the century. Meanwhile, the unsustainable land Forestry Research (CIFOR), there have been a
practices of past and present generations mean that plethora of definitions of “landscape approaches”
there is, simultaneously, significant restorative and over the years, which has led to some confusion and
conservation work to be prioritized. Indeed, agriculture, subsequently delayed uptake by policy-makers and
conservation, development and other land uses all those implementing on the ground.2 However, Terry
compete for space and for resources. Sunderland, Principal Scientist with CIFOR’s Forests
and Livelihoods Programme, argues that the fact that
Management approaches that consider agriculture, the approach defies an easy definition is actually a good
f orestry, biodiversity and poverty alleviation as separate thing. He explains: “The landscape approach is anything
issues or in “silos” do not suffice. The scale of the global but orderly. It is more a case of muddling through and
challenges we face is too great; there is a need for being flexible enough to adapt to change, and integrating
genuinely integrated approaches. multiple objectives for the best possible benefits.”3 The
nature of the landscape approach, and one of the benefits
In this context, landscape approaches provide it seems, is that it avoids an oversimplified definition.
“a framework to integrate policy and practice for multiple
land uses, within a given area, to ensure equitable and In terms of guiding principles, however, there is some
sustainable use of land while strengthening measures to clarity and consensus. A 2012 intergovernmental and
mitigate and adapt to climate change.” 1 inter-institutional process led to the development of the
following 10 principles that characterize the landscape
With respect to forest management, landscape approach.
1
Reed, J., Deakin, L, & Sunderland, T. (2015). What are ‘Integrated Landscape 2
Approaches’ and how effectively have they been implemented in the Ibid.
3
tropics: A systematic map protocol. Environmental Evidence, 4, 2, p. 1. Sunderland, T. (2014). ‘Landscape approach’ defies simple definition — and
Retrieved from https://environmentalevidencejournal.biomedcentral.com/ that’s good. Retrieved from http://blog.cifor.org/23834/landscape-approach-
articles/10.1186/2047-2382-4-2 defies-simple-definition-and-thats-good?fnl=en

© 2016 State of Sustainability Initiatives 1

 Commentary Report

Source: Centre for International Forestry Research

Complementing the Ecosystem Services productivity, profitability, diversity and ecosystem

Approach sustainability. Trees are managed together with crops
and/or animal production systems to increase social,
The landscape approach is a natural ally of ecosystem economic and environmental benefits for land users at
services logic, which emphasizes that the natural all scales. 4
systems upon which humans depend (e.g., pollination,
filtration, photosynthesis) require the proper functioning In Thailand, paper companies are working closely with
of the overall ecosystems of which these services are a farmers to facilitate growing trees around land under
part. Both approaches promote “systems-level” thinking, rice cultivation. In a pilot project, the Programme for
away from the narrow, sector-specific approaches the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) has
that have, in many ways, contributed to present-day been supporting local stakeholders to articulate the
conundrums. specific requirements for sustainable management of
agroforestry resources.
Forests are known to provide an array of ecosystem
services, such as retaining and filtering fresh water, Did you know?
preserving biodiversity, generating habitats for many
species and mitigating climate change by sequestering India is the only country to have adopted a National
carbon from the atmosphere, among others. The hope is Agroforestry policy (as of 2015) and is the world
that these multifunctional purposes are better captured leader in agroforestry innovation.1 In addition,
in a landscape or ecosystems services approach—one Sachin Raj, from India’s Network for Certification
that expands our understanding of the diverse values and Conservation of Forests, informs us that 80 per
derived from natural systems—than, for example, under cent of industrial wood in India comes from trees
typical forest management plans that simply recognize outside of forests.2
the value of timber and wood products.
1
Kapsoot, D. (2014). Agroforestry in India: New national policy sets
the bar high. Retrieved from http://www.the-guardian.com/global-
Landscape Approach Examples development-professionals-network/2014/feb/17/india-national-
policy-agroforestry-tree-coverage
Trees are grown and cultivated far beyond forest
2 
boundaries, and, as such, trees form an important Raj spoke at PEFC’s 2015 Forest Certification Week in Montreux,
Switzerland.
component of many rural and urban landscapes. For
instance, trees may be planted as hedgerows throughout
agricultural fields, or to create shade in public parks or The American Forest Foundation (AFF) is working with
home gardens, or as plantations for productive purposes. American landowners in Florida to develop landscape
management plans. Given the vast scale and the mosaic
Agroforestry is a good example of the use of “trees of landowners and priorities, this has proven to be a
outside of forests.” It is a land-use system that integrates
trees into farmlands and rural landscapes to enhance 4
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2015). Agroforestry. Retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/forestry/agroforestry/en/

© 2016 State of Sustainability Initiatives 2

 Commentary Report

Ten Principles of the Landscape Approach

Source: Adapted from Sawyer et al. 2012

challenging task. Once a final master plan is accepted, Voluntary Sustainability Standards
individual landowners will be required to make formal
commitments to implement and manage the master
Trending Towards a Landscape
plan.5 Approach
Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) are working
towards evolving their certification schemes to allow
The Landscape Approach and the Global
for landscape approaches to the production of various
Development Agenda commodities from different avenues and entry points.
The third annual Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) took The Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) is
place in Paris, France, alongside the United Nations in the process of expanding its focus on assessing the
Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 21st sustainability impacts of their biomaterials certification
Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in December 2015. scheme to examine indirect land-use changes. To this
Bringing together more than 3,200 stakeholders and 148 end, they “proposed a set of criteria attempting to define
organizations from forestry, agriculture, water, energy, how additional biomaterial can be produced without
law and finance, the GLF positioned the landscape affecting land use, effectively reducing the demand for
approach as the “framework for balancing the global, land conversion and indirect land use change risks.”8
top-down political agenda for climate change and
development with a more bottom-up approach to land The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is workign towards
use planning.”6 The GLF did not shy away from the issue a watershed approach to cotton production with plans
of poverty either: “In the same landscapes where we are to team up with the Alliance for Water Stewardship, to
trying to adapt to or mitigate climate change, we are also better ascertain the resources available and required for
trying to alleviate poverty. It requires us to confront the cotton production as well as how this need fits with other
problems of power inequalities, recognizing that while competing resource uses. This will enable BCI to move
some people will benefit, others will inevitably lose out.”7 from strictly focusing on producing cotton sustainably
to producing cotton sustainably and holistically within a
landscape mosaic supporting the livelihoods of multiple
actors.
5
T. Martin (2015), speaking on behalf of AFF at PEFC’s 2015 Forest
Certification Week in Montreux, Switzerland.
6
Global Landscapes Forum. (2015). Outcome Statement of the 2015 Global 8
  Bridle, R. (2015). Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials Annual Meeting
Landscapes Forum. Retrieved from http://www.landscapes.org/wp-content/ of the General Assembly. The Standards Reporter Report 3. Retrieved from
uploads/docs/GLF-Paris-Outcomes-Statement.pdf http://www.iisd.org/ssi/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Report-3-RSB-
7
Ibid. June-2015.pdf

© 2016 State of Sustainability Initiatives 3

 Commentary Report

PEFC and the Certification of “Trees Outside of chains of custody across different soft commodities?
Forests” PEFC may be leading this discussion with global
stakeholders in the coming years.
Aspiring towards more sustainable landscapes and
urban spaces, PEFC recognizes the importance of trees
outside of forests and the holistic value of the landscape Towards Sustainable Landscape
approach. PEFC9 maintains that: Management
• Agroforestry contributes significantly to global
supply chains and rural livelihoods alike. As VSSs continue looking for innovative ways to progress
• Tree farming can alleviate pressure on forests in towards sustainability on multiple fronts, the landscape
places where natural forests are threatened. approach provides a pathway forward for a more holistic
• The non-wood forest products that the trees both approach to the production of the various commodities
inside and out of forests produce also have the we have come to depend on for our well-being. PEFC
potential to contribute significantly to increased has made significant efforts to allow for landscape
food security and rural livelihoods. approaches to their forest certification program by, for
example, taking steps to recognize the need to certify
With this in mind, PEFC has been looking into the role trees outside of forests, support agroforestry and
of forest certification in promoting the planting of trees incorporate non-timber forest products. A number of
outside forests and bringing recognition to the roles that other VSSs, such as RSB and BCI, are also advancing in
trees play in sustainable landscapes. this direction with efforts to understand indirect land-use
change risks and watershed approaches to agricultural
In 2015 PEFC convened an expert group in Geneva, production.
Switzerland, to build consensus around best practice on
the certification of trees outside of forests. The work is
ongoing in 2016, and clearly contributes to elaborating
the “landscape approach”—seeing the need to look
beyond individual stands to the larger landscapes in
terms of sustainable management, planning, ecosystem
services, etc.

PEFC is focusing on Sustainable Landscapes for

Sustainable Livelihoods and exploring the potential
for forest certification to expand its impact and scope
through the landscape approach:

1. Into further places (i.e., outside of forests)

2. To further constituents/people (i.e., more
smallholders operating throughout the landscape)
3. To further products and services (i.e., non-timber
forest products, ecosystem services, etc.)

Expansion in these three dimensions is already happening,

and PEFC and its stakeholders will be looking to further
expand collaboration and investment to realize forest
certification’s full potential in promoting sustainable
management (not just “timber certification”—which is a
very common and persistent misunderstanding).

When considering the commodities derived from

landscapes with trees, there is an area of cross-sector
certification that needs exploring and attention. How
can multiple certification systems work together to
better align or deliver dual/multiple certifications for
different crops? What is the potential for common
9
  PEFC (2015). Delivering impacts in the forest and beyond. Retrieved from
http://www.pefc.org/resources/brochures/projects-and-development/1955-
delivering-impacts-in-the-forest-and-beyond

© 2016 State of Sustainability Initiatives 4

 Author: Laura Turley
Photo credits: Samim Hasan via Wallpaperup.com. Accessed at
http://www.wallpaperup.com/255757/nature_mountain_forest_
land-scape_fog_lake_ultrahd_4k_wallpaper.html
Design: Aynur Mammadova

The SSI Commentaries are drafted in the form of short briefs to

contribute to ongoing reflections on how voluntary sustainability
standards can best address a range of sustainable consumption and
production issues.

The SSI is a collaborative effort funded by the State Secretariat for

Economic Affairs (SECO) and led by the International Institute for
Sustainable Development (IISD), the International Institute for
Environment and Development (IIED) and the Finance Alliance for
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