A rose by any other name? Evaluating integrated

landscape approaches in the tropicsJames Reed, Josh van Vianen, Jos Barlow, Terry Sunderland

2nd Annual FLARE network meeting, Edinburgh 2nd-5th

December 2016

What are landscape approaches

and how effectively have they been implemented in the tropics?

Key findings from the “theory” literature

Optimizing adoption of landscape approaches:

• evaluating progress within a landscape is fundamental to determining where gains or losses are being made

• hybrid, multi-level and cross-sectoral governance structuresthat integrate internal traditional knowledge and external institutional and financial support are increasingly preferable

• must acknowledge the need for contextualisation and not subscribe to panaceas

• inclusive, participatory stakeholder negotiation can help align local socio-cultural and global environmental concerns

• should recognise dynamic processes and perverse outcomes

See: Reed et al. 2016 - Integrated landscape approaches to managing social and environmental issues in the tropics: learning from the past to guide the future

Quality of the evidencePeer reviewed articles

Grey literature (web screening)

Grey literature (document screening)

Totals

Number of casestudies

24 97 53 174

Numberreported success

13 (54%) 46 (47%) 20 (38%) 79 (45%)

Reliable data provided

6 (46%) 8 (17%) 1 (5%) 15 (19%)

Factors influencing “success”

Influence of governance structure

Key findings from the literature

Current barriers to effective implementation:

• the ongoing development of theory and conceptualization may be stimulating time lags

• the proliferation of terms associated with landscape approaches may be impeding policy and practice progress

• operating silos persist at all levels and scales

• engaging multiple stakeholders is all too often seen as a box-ticking exercise to satisfy project requirements

• monitoring remains the least well developed area of landscape approach application

Conclusions and recommendations

Landscape approaches remain contentious and under-theorized – “old wine, new bottles?”

There is good evidence of “landscape approaches” being implemented within the tropics but weak evidence of effectiveness

Multi-level engagement seems fundamental to success

Attempts to implement must be contextualized and willing to embrace complexity

Metrics need to continue to develop

Thanks for listening!

For further information:

James Reed: j.reed@cgiar.org

Terry Sunderland: t.sunderland@cgiar.org