Redefining a natural resource management …•CIFOR, 2016, CIFOR Strategy 2016 -2025: Stepping up to the new climate and development agenda. Bogor, Indonesia, •CIFOR, 2016, The

Redefining a natural resource management approach to address global challenges at the landscape level

Perspectives on the landscape approach

Blair Freeman

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium, Oxford, 15 April 2016

Policy innovation required in developing countries

• Deforestation has been continuing at high levels and alarming rates in particular countries

• Directly related issues include extensive smoke haze, biodiversity loss and CO2 emissions

• The complex array of drivers generally constrains effectiveness of sector-specific approaches

• The complexity of land tenure and land use rights are particularly significant factors

• The immediate drivers for short term ‘cash’ generally overwhelm the drivers for building ‘capital’ for the longer term

• The capacity to align market forces with sustainable development has been lacking – hence the recent focus on ‘responsible sourcing’

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

Source: SNV smallholder palm oil monitoring, Jambi

Flickr Creative Commons

Source: USDA Indonesia Peatland fires;

Flickr Creative Commons

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The landscape approach – a contemporary paradigm

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

“More

integrated

and holistic

approaches”

are needed.

CIFOR, 2016

3

‘Ten principles’ to be addressed in landscape management processes:

1. Continual learning and adaptive management

2. Common concern entry point

3. Multiple scales – higher and lower level processes

4. Multi-functionality – multiple uses and purposes

5. Multiple stakeholders – equitable engagement

6. Negotiated and transparent change logic

7. Clarification of rights and responsibilities

8. Participatory and user-friendly monitoring

9. Resilience

10. Strengthened stakeholder capacity

Source: Sayer et al., 2012, Ten principles for a landscape approach to reconciling agriculture, conservation, and other competing land uses.

Contemporary models – the landscape approach

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 20164

Contemporary models – adaptive management

• Essentially a structured, iterative process of decision making

• Designed to improve management outcomes over the long term

• Recognition that management needs to be active in the absence of perfect knowledge

• The adaptive management approach incorporates multiple feedback loopsfor learning over time

Source: Peacock, 2014, Adaptive management of the NSW north coast forests – is it time to grasp the

opportunity? IFA seminar on resilience landscapes, October 2014

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

Key principles for active and adaptive management:

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Contemporary models – TFA 2020 governance

• A global public-private partnership, embracing landscape principles

• Focussing on reducing deforestation associated with the production of four key global commodities –palm oil, beef, soy, pulp & paper – by 2020

• Facilitating partnerships between government, the private sector and civil society

• Establishing ‘country team’ structures that provide for ongoing engagement between stakeholder groups

Source: TFA 2020 – Resources online.

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

The Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) 2020:

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A holistic approach recognises interrelated interests

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• Policy goals and

planning processes

• Effective multi-

stakeholder engagement

• Capacity to support

enforcement and

implementation

• Natural capital

encompasses broad range

of ecosystem services

• Maintaining natural capital

incorporates biodiversity

conservation and enabling

sustainable production

• Primary focus on creating

and supporting livelihoods

based on sustainable

production systems

• Also securing long term

access to ecosystem

services that support

healthy societies

• Sustainable production

is required to support

livelihoods and other

requirements from

society and communities

• Dependent on existing

natural capital

Governance processes

Naturalcapital

Sustainable production

Humanwell-being

The landscapes approach – four key themes for consideration

Interrelated challenges at the global and regional level

Climate Change Biodiversity loss Smoke haze

Competing land

uses

Deforestation

Contested land tenure and

ownership arrangements

Limited knowledge

of agricultural best practice

Increasing population

pressures

Limited access to broader

market opportunities

Presentation to Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

SLP examples of policy innovation in forest governance

8Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

1. Supporting West Papua to become a Conservation Province:

Promoting use of the landscape approach to implement this policy initiative in West Papua

2. Fiscal incentives for forest conservation in Indonesia:

Promoting the development and establishment of fiscal incentives for subnational jurisdictions across Indonesia to conserve and manage existing forest resources

3. Development of a landscape accounting framework:

Developing a jurisdictional framework for setting agreed goals and performance indicators that relate to:

• conserving natural capital, including watersheds, forests and arable land;

• developing sustainable production systems and ‘green’ supply chains; and

• improving human well-being for local communities and society more broadly.

Example 1: West Papua becoming a Conservation Province

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of primary forest intact

35%

of plants found nowhere else

on earth

60%

SLP is working with the West Papua Province to plan the implementation of the Conservation Province policy initiative by promoting the landscapes approach to development

The creation of a provincial policy framework links ‘green’ government planning and budget cycles with clear sustainability goals and targets for agencies and departments

Proposed strategies to achieve the vision include:

• Protection of customary rights over natural resources

• Development of industries that are compatible with the ‘Provinsi Konservasi’ vision

• Establishing a clear threshold for the proportion of lands to be managed as protected forests and conservation areas

• A Protected Area network that links land (terrestrial) and marine ecosystems – i.e. ‘ridge to reef’ conservation planning

• Integrated watershed management to support conservation and sustainable production

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016Source: Conservation International, 2015

Example 2. Fiscal incentives for forest conservation

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Deforestation rates across Indonesia

Key features of this initiative

• Observes Indonesia’s policy of

decentralisation and empowerment of

subnational governments

• Embraces principles of simplicity and

transparency, i.e. use of publicly

available measures

• Proposes use of forest cover as a primary

metric; based on examples of similar

policy initiatives in other countries

• Recognises the scope to build on this

platform with other initiatives

1. Set clear policy signals at the national level

Set up National Government fiscal incentives to

incorporate forest cover and/or rate of change

in forest cover as key ecological indicators

2. Crystallise the focus at provincial level

Align state and local budget allocations, and

encourage district governments and village

heads to support private investment that will

conserve or enhance the remaining forest cover

3. Integrate with other objectives over time

Progressively build on this central focus and integrate

with other policies – such as the development of

Forest Management Units, REDD+, and other payment

for ecosystem services (PES) initiatives - over time

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

SLP proposing fiscal incentives for forest conservation:

Source: Margono, et al. 2012, Primary forest

cover loss in Indonesia over 2000 to 2012.

Example 3. Developing a landscape accounting framework to set agreed goals and measure performance over time

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1. Define, at provincial level with national government support –through multi-stakeholder engagement – goals for landscape sustainability

2. Select landscape accounting indicators using available data sets

3. Produce scorecard and dashboard to show current status and trends

4. Analyse changes and impact of policy interventions

5. Use outputs to inform landscape investments and budget allocations

6. Review periodically

Process for setting goals and monitoring indicators over time

Key indicators that collectively characterise landscape sustainability

Measurable indicators for a holistic view of the landscape, should cover themes of:

• Natural capital: e.g. proportion of forest cover, planned & unplanned deforestation over time, fires

• Sustainable production: e.g. Crop yield x crop type - range of agricultural crop types

• Human well-being: e.g. reference to the Human Development Index

Propose use of Government endorsed datasets and other public datasets to reach consensus and reduce costs

Visualisation of data: transparent platform for decision-making

• Visualisation of the data using scorecards and dashboards

• Multiple thematic layers, with separate components for natural capital, production and human well-being

• Transparent information available for stakeholders for continuous review

• Provision of data inputs for policy decisions relating to:

• Budget allocations

• Landscape investments

• Policy impact assessments

Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

Source: Conservation International, 2015

Exhibit: Developing a landscape accounting ‘dashboard’ for ready access and monitoring by stakeholders

12Southeast Asian Studies Symposium – Oxford, April 2016

Source: Conservation International, 2015

Key messages

1. The landscape approach calls for a more holistic and integrated approach to managing natural resources, across tenures and sectors

2. It is essentially an ongoing process of broad stakeholder engagement to set goals and monitor performance indicators for ‘desirable futures’

3. Working models exist in Indonesia and elsewhere, forming the basis for policy innovation

4. Further developmental work includes the following:

i. Implementation of the development of the new ‘Conservation Province’ model

ii. Further testing and piloting of new sustainable financing models

iii. Amplification and replication of natural capital accounting at the sub-national level

iv. Establishing feedback loops between landscape reporting and policy formulation

v. Establishing clear, direct linkages to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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References

• CIFOR, 2016, CIFOR Strategy 2016 -2025: Stepping up to the new climate and development agenda. Bogor, Indonesia,

• CIFOR, 2016, The landscape approach and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Further information available online: http://www.landscapes.org/cifor-sdgs-integrated-landscape-approach-needed

• Conservation International, 2015. The Sustainable Landscapes Partnership. Further information available online: http://www.conservation.org/projects/Pages/sustainable-landscapes-partnership-northern-sumatra-indonesia.aspx

• Global Landscapes Forum, 2016. Further information available online: www.landscapes.org/

• Margono, et al. 2014, Primary forest cover loss in Indonesia, 2000-2012. Nature, 29 June 2014 | NCLIMATE2277.

• NSW Natural Resources Commission, 2014. Active and adaptive management of cypress forests in the Brigalow and Nandewar State Conservation Areas. Sydney, NSW.

• Peacock, R. 2014, Adaptive management of the NSW north coast forests – is it time to grasp the opportunity?Presentation to Institute of Foresters of Australia seminar series on resilience landscapes, October 2014, Sydney.

• Sayer, J., Sunderland, T., Ghazoul, J., Pfund, J., Sheil, D., Meijaard, E., Venter, M. , Boedhihartono, A.K., Day, M., Garcia, C., van Oosten, C. and Buck, L. 2012, Ten principles for a landscape approach to reconciling agriculture, conservation, and other competing land uses. PNAS May 21, 2013 8349 –8356.

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