Two new tools aimed at reversing degradation and deforestation are discussed on the blog of the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature initiative, highlighting the need to involve local communities in restoration efforts at a landscape level.
It is estimated that 20 per cent of global forest cover has been degraded and 30 per cent cleared. The article asks how restoration will occur on the 2 billion hectares of land across the world considered suitable. Will it be government-imposed or community-driven?
In some parts of the world ‘land grabs’ have occurred under the guise of conservation, forcing indigenous people to be evicted from their lands, violating human rights and causing even more environmental damage.
“Community-managed forests are more successful in reducing deforestation and protecting biodiversity than traditional protected areas,” says the article. A landscape approach coordinated across sectors and considering social, economic, and environmental factors is increasingly recognized as a more beneficial approach. In this way, landscapes can be restored through encouraging residents to engage in practices such as agroforestry, smallholder agriculture and silvopastoral systems.
During an event titled: The Power of Landscape Resotration held in December 2013, organized by the World Bank’s Program on Forests (PROFOR), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the restoration tools were previewed.
The Rapid Restoration Diagnostic Tool developed by WRI and IUCN aims to help decision-makers evaluate landscapes under consideration for restoration to see what success factors exist and which would need to be addressed before human, financial, or political capital could be smartly invested in the project. The tool factors in the empowerment of local people to make decisions about restoration, and their ability to benefit from restoration.
The Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) is under development. It will help policymakers identify the location and extent of degraded lands in their countries and determine “what benefits their restoration could bring, to whom, and at what cost”
Read the full story: Saving the Trees for the Forest: Towards Landscape Restoration
