{"id":9767,"date":"2014-09-23T08:37:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T08:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archive.globallandscapesforum.org\/glf-2014\/?p=9767"},"modified":"2014-09-23T08:42:00","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T08:42:00","slug":"blog-map-landscape-approaches-presented-global-landscapes-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.globallandscapesforum.org\/glf-2014\/2014\/09\/23\/blog-map-landscape-approaches-presented-global-landscapes-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"BLOG – Map on landscape approaches to be presented at Global Landscapes Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"8571699879_58454c86cf_z\" — For the mapping, CIFOR scientists will also use “gray”literature. Douglas Shell\/CIFOR photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
*This blog was written by Joan Baxter for* *Forest News, Center for International Forestry Research<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n*
What on Earth does \u201cintegrated landscape management\u201d mean?\u00a0If you ask 78 different scientists, you just might get 78 different answers, participants at a recent land-use conference found.\u00a0Consensus on definitions is a hallmark of science. When there is no consensus, though, things can get unwieldy \u2014 especially where science meets policy.<\/p>\n
*So it goes for the \u201clandscape approach\u201d to sustainable development, a framework that encompasses the full spectrum of land uses and actors for land use and management.<\/p>\n*
The term \u201clandscape\u201d has become commonplace in the global discourse on sustainable development and management of land and other natural resources, but the scientific community has yet to agree on a single definition for \u201clandscape approaches,\u201d probably for good reason<\/a>. At the recent conference on Landscapes for People, Food and Nature,<\/span> organized by EcoAgriculture Partners and the World Agroforestry Centre<\/a> in Nairobi, Kenya, participants learned there were no fewer than 78 different terms that allude to integrated landscape management.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the research community has spent a great deal of time and intellectual energy trying to narrow down the terminology around the terms \u201clandscapes\u201d to conjure a universally accepted definition for landscapes and landscape management. The knowledge that a plethora of terms is of little use when dealing with multiple stakeholders has led to recent efforts within the research community to provide a more cohesive framework for the landscape approach.<\/p>\n
When the Center for International Forestry Research<\/span><\/a> (CIFOR) and partners published a paper outlining 10 principles\u00a0<\/a>that distill the landscape approach down to its essential elements, it didn\u2019t advance to the next stage of what that means on the ground.<\/p>\n
At the time the paper was published, there was a great deal of interest from the media: The question they wanted the authors to answer was where the landscape approach had been applied successfully, so they could see the results. The problem? There were few places where it had been explicitly applied.<\/p>\n
The thorny issue of terminology around landscapes threatens to derail the discussion and distract us from the actual value and scope of the approach. To resolve this, CIFOR scientists are now undertaking a systematic mapping exercise in an effort to refine just what the landscape approach represents in practice, but avoiding strict definition, due to the plethora of implementation strategies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be using evidence-based research in the form of systematic mapping,\u201d CIFOR researcher James Reed said. \u201cThis is a methodology developed in the medical sciences and more recently adopted by the natural and social sciences.\u201d The aim, Reed said, is to synthesize the currently fragmented evidence base related to landscape approaches and understand what the \u201capproach\u201d actually represents.<\/p>\n
Using pre-determined criteria, the team will screen the literature for relevance and quality to develop two maps \u2014 one with conceptual frameworks for landscape approaches produced by various institutions, and a second interactive one to show where and how landscape approaches are being or have been implemented.<\/p>\n
According to Liz Deakin, a CIFOR post-doctoral fellow also working on the review, it is \u201chugely important\u201d to clarify what the landscape approach means on the ground,. \u201cRight now there is a great deal of confusion surrounding what it represents and why we need it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The mapping process will draw on peer-reviewed literature from multiple sources, but it will also seek out non-peer-reviewed documents of relevance such as dissertation theses, field notes, policy briefs and other \u201cgray literature.\u201d<\/p>\n
The systematic map, which is to be completed and presented at the upcoming Global Landscapes Forum<\/span><\/a> in Lima, Peru, in December 2014, should help move the discourse on landscapes beyond definitions and fuzzy thinking so researchers can concentrate on applying and further refining landscape approaches, which \u2014 unlike the alternatives \u2014 offer entry points for negotiation among competing land users.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This blog was written by Joan Baxter for Forest News, Center for International Forestry Research What on Earth does \u201cintegrated landscape management\u201d mean?\u00a0If you ask 78 different scientists, you just might get 78 different answers, participants at a recent land-use conference found.\u00a0Consensus on definitions is a hallmark of science. When there is no consensus, though, […]","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":9768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n