Bonn - In 2018, action around the world is in full swing to meet global goals on climate change, sustainable development and restoration of forest landscapes. These big goals address even bigger problems, making it difficult to know where to start in addressing them.

A landscape approach could be the best starting point, says Robert Nasi, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), who spoke at the opening of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) at the end of 2017 in Bonn, Germany.

“The landscape is the right unit of management,” Nasi said at the event. “We cannot solve problems sector by sector; we need to look at the whole picture.”

Taking an ecological view of scale, Nasi recommended defining different ‘landscapes’ based on the problems at hand, and conducting research that considers these landscapes in their entirety, taking into account social, economic, cultural and environmental aspects, to inform better targeted action.

For example, forest landscape restoration requires an informed understanding of an entire forest landscape and all of its stakeholders – from the trees in the ground, to the clean air and water they produce, the people and animals who depend on forest products, the cultural values attached to place and the resources needed by government and industry for social and economic development.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Forests News caught up with Nasi to hear more about his views on how taking a landscape approach can help address some of the world’s biggest challenges.

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