Integrating Livelihoods and Multiple Biodiversity Values in Landscape Mosaics

The project, “Integrating Livelihoods and Multiple Biodiversity Values in Landscape Mosaics (or the Landscape Mosaics Project in short)”, was the first project of the CIFOR-ICRAF Biodiversity Platform. The project conducted research on socio-economic, governance and biophysical characteristics and dynamics of the five study landscapes and the interactions between these factors. It also investigated the potential for reward mechanisms for environmental services. The project aimed to in form and facilitate negotiation processes on natural resource use rights allocation between communities and district level and other key stakeholders in order to enable them to manage landscape mosaics more sustainably. The project worked in the following study sites: Tanzania: East Usambara Mountains, Tanga Region; South West Cameroon: Takamanda-Mone Technical Operation Unit; Sumatra, Indonesia: Bungo District, Jambi Province; Northern Laos: Vieng Kham District, Luang Prabang Province; and Eastern Madagascar: Manompana corridor, Soanierana-Ivongo District. Within these countries, a landscape was selected that reflected a gradient from a densely forested protected area to land covers fragmented by agricultural uses. From these landscapes, three representative territories (villages) were selected in which the support to negotiations and empirical research took place. The project was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and supported by other donors such as the European Commission, the Governments of Finland, the Netherlands and Australia. The Biodiversity Platform was launched in 2006 as a joint initiative of CIFOR and the World Agroforestry Centre. The Platform was launched in recognition of the role that multifunctional landscape mosaics have in preserving biodiversity conservation, both within and outside of protecte d areas. Tree cover in multifunctional landscape mosaics preserves important habitats and can play a crucial role in maintaining connectivity between large reserves, which has been demonstrated to be essential for the survival of many species. The occupation and use of these landscapes by many peoples, however, require that any conservation efforts in these mosaics consider the social dimensions of the use and conservation of biodiversity, in addition to their biophysical dimensions and dynamics.