Posted on November, 14 2016

WWF released today Landscape Elements, a new brief that brings together WWF´s experience in working with partners and stakeholders to implement landscape approaches for sustainable development. The guidance is applicable for all regions and builds on the Little Sustainable Landscapes Book, developed with partners in 2015[1].
 
WWF´s Landscape Elements describes in detail key steps to achieve integrated landscape management. These include solutions on how to:

• Form multi-stakeholder platforms;
• Achieve a shared understanding of key issues, challenges and opportunities in the landscape;
• Collaboratively plan to maximise social, economic and environmental benefits;
• Ensure effective implementation;
• Monitor, evaluate and learn for adaptive management and
• Influence governance, market and financial environments that impact the landscape

“Solutions at a landscape level require that many stakeholders work together for solutions at scale to address climate change, conservation, sustainable development and poverty,” says Paul Chatterton, founder of WWF’s Landscape Finance Lab. “Investing in large, integrated approaches is a huge opportunity for the global community to create long term environmental solutions. Integrated action at landscape scale is much more effective than traditional approaches of working through small scale projects and single sector approaches.”
 
Landscape approaches can not only assist in implementing global Sustainable Development and Climate Goals, they will also be key for improved governance and integrating work across sectors. This is of particular relevance in hotspots like Sumatra and the Mekong.
 
“In the Mekong, we are engaging in the landscape approach and have started to apply the elements described in the brief in transboundary landscapes. We’re already seeing that it helps to bring civil society, government and private sector around the table to discuss issues such as law enforcement. Additionally, the tools assist in creating market linkages and reduce threats to wildlife and forest habitat,” says Thibault Ledecq, WWF Mekong Forest Coordinator. “Our landscape work is also likely to lead to climate smart investments.”
 
WWF´s landscape work aims to integrate conservation, sustainable use and where necessary restoration across a whole landscape mosaic to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services, whilst ensuring room for subsistence and commercial activities.

“Sustainable landscapes are accepted by many of the world’s governments as a means of implementing the climate and sustainable development goals at scale.  As a contribution to the Climate Convention in Marrakesh and to Landscapes Day on 16 November, WWF offers now a tool for building sustainable landscape solutions”, says Paul Chatterton
 
For More Information: Paul Chatterton, WWF Landscape Finance Lab, pc@wwf.at.
 

Coming soon: WWF will launch a Landscape Finance Lab in 2017 to develop and finance sustainable landscapes in some of the world’s most biodiverse regions.

[1] Partners that helped develop the Little Sustainable Landscapes Book  included Global Canopy Programme, EcoAgriculture Partners, IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative and TNC along with supporting partners including CIFOR, GEF, GIZ, World Agroforestry Centre, IUCN, Tropenbos International, UNEP, the World Bank Group and TerrAfrica.