Transcript Introduction to Landscape approach

Landscape level planning in the context
of Sustainable Forest Management
(SFM)
Kumasi, May 2008
Questions



What is sustainability and sustainable forest
management?
How does this relate to Landscape approaches
or Landscape Level Planning?
How can Landscape Level Planning improve
on conventional forestry planning systems?
Sustainability (in the forest sector)
Used to be..
 Sustained yield – of timber
Nowadays…sustainability of:
 Timber yield
 Other products (bushmeat, NTFPs etc)
 Services for society e.g. water supplies, soils,
cultural sites, biodiversity, recreation
What is sustainable forest management?
“The process of managing permanent forest land to
achieve one or more clearly specified objectives of
management with regard to the production of a
continuous flow of desired forest products and services
without undue reduction in its inherent values and future
productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the
physical and social environment” (ITTO)
Why has SFM become important?






Government and international requirements insist on
high environmental standards
Market pressures require sustainably-sourced forest
products (especially timber)
Investors in forestry want to ensure their ‘green’
credibility
Longer-term economic benefits will result (compared
with the short-term gains from unsustainable
practices)
A wish to reduce environmental and social ‘risks’ and
avoid litigation
Climate change
This requires paying attention to…

The legal and policy framework and its enforcement

Sustained, optimal production of forest goods and
services

Environmental protection

People’s well-being
“Proper planning at all levels is an essential component of
sustainable forest management”
How much forest do we need or want?
What kinds of forest should there be?
Where should it be situated?
How should it be preserved and managed?
This determines the type of planning we need for
SFM
Two key planning principles for SFM
1.
2.
Optimisation
Negotiated process
Optimisation?



Optimise the mix of products and services from
a forest
Managing for a single product or service will
usually affect forests’ ability to provide other
services and products
Trade-offs will almost always have to be made
for SFM (can’t maximise everything all the time)
Negotiated process?



In democratic societies no single person or organisation
can exert excessive controls over others
To make effective trade-offs and optimise the mix of
products and services from a forest, discussion is
required
This allows different stakeholders, (organisations and
individuals) to express their values, preferences and to
NEGOTIATE
Landscape level planning (compared with traditional forest
planning)

Allows us to work out what the necessary trade-offs are
through a negotiated process
Landscape level
A suitable scale for:



Optimising and making trade-offs
Negotiating processes (with stakeholders)
Normally intermediate in size between a larger
‘eco-region’ or country and a ‘site’
A landscape level planning process:








Involves multiple stakeholders in planning and negotiating agreed
outcomes
Uses multiple criteria to evaluate and agree on different options
(environmental, social, economic, cultural, political etc.)
Is open, transparent and free from external manipulation
“Where different knowledge sources meet”
Integrates the needs of different sectors
Looks at external effects i.e. those outside the forest
Produces a plan that is flexible enough to respond to external
changes
Planning as iterative process (learning is key)
ST
AG
E1
ST
AG
E2
Drivers of change (problem identification)
Natural and cultural dimension
Institutional dimension
Socio-cultural and economic dimension
Geology
Existing local organisations
Attitudes
Institutions and stakeholders
Local culture
Farm economy
Power relations
Sense of place
Other industries
Farm types
contextualizationSettlement
Legislation and bylaws
Multistakeholder
Sense ofanalysis
community
Land planning policies
Climate
Landscape description
Infrastructure
Vegetation
qualities
Institutions
Tenure arrangements
Historical development
Stakeholder perceptions and vision
Goals and aspirations
Aesthetic
Developing trust and partnerships
Identification of land use and management options
Biodiversity
features
Distinctive
Building landscape scenarios
ST
AG
E4
Agricultural industries
Soils
Topography
Progressive
pattern
ST
AG
E3
and values
Land use
Environmental functions and values
Environmental valuation
Scenario planning
Multistakeholder discussion and
negotiation
Negotiated landscape scenarios and trade-offs
Action learning
Action planning and implementation
ST
AG
E5
New institutional arrangements
Monitoring for impact
Participatory monitoring
Adapt and Learn
A landscape level planning process:
Stands or falls with good facilitation!
Thinking in “landscapes” and landscape level
planning……
……how does it help in achieving your project
objectives?
Discuss in same 2 groups and report back by
preparing a statement for general discussion such
as “yes, it helps because……” or “yes, but….” etc.