Integrating livelihoods and multiple biodiversity values in landscape mosaics: from knowledge to action

There is widespread acknowledgement that integrated landscape management will be possible only if local priorities and kno wledge are incorporated in land use and conservation planning. This is especially tr ue in rural landscapes that are outside of protected areas but partially covered by trees and forests. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in collaboration with the Centre for Internatio nal Forest Research (CIFOR) is implementing a project titled “ Integrating Livelihoods and Multiple Biodiversity Values in Landscape Mosaics” in an effort to contribute to integration of improved livelihoods of ru ral communities and biodiversity conservation in a set of tropical landscape mosaics of high biodiversity conservation value. This novel project is implemented under a joint ICRAF-CIFOR Biodiv ersity Platform and is implemented in 5 landscapes in global biodiversity hotspot areas in Africa and Asia. The project is founded on a new paradigm for biodiversity management that integrates protected areas into broader landscapes of human use and biodiversity conservation. The landscape management approach is particularly important in mixed-use landscapes. The Landscape Mosaics project is a multi-site research initiative that aims to deliver approaches and lessons to better tackle the joint challenges of biodiversity conservation and livelihood improvement in the areas of high human use and high biodiversity value. In the end, the intent is to build standard approaches that can be applied to landscapes outside the project domain, as well as to gene rate valuable context- specific lessons and experiences through the application of those approaches. Tanzania’s East Usambara moun tain forests, which rank hi gh among the most valuable conservation areas in Africa, is one of the proj ect sites. Local partners in this site are the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, WWF – Tanzania, and the Amani Nature Reserve, all of whom have related initiatives in the ar ea. This paper presents the project concepts and the way that those concepts are being adapted to conditions and opportunities in the East Usambara site, with the aim of prom pting discussion on the applicability of the tools and approaches for better integration of local livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in landscape management in the wider Tanzanian context

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