6 December 2014: A book titled ‘Climate-Smart Landscapes: Multifunctionality in Practice’ was launched on the sidelines of the 2014 Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), which convened in Lima, Peru, on 6-7 December 2014. The book, whose publication was led by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), brings together research and case studies by 86 authors from 44 institutions on the tools, methods and pathways used to create sustainable multi-functional landscapes, particularly in the fight against climate change.

Chapters cover, inter alia, integrated landscapes initiatives in Africa and Latin America, providing a synthesis of key findings in both regions. They also highlight future policies, investments and activities to support landscapes approaches globally. Others discuss why the landscapes approach is unique and why it has it become a “catchphrase” of the climate change research community.

Tony Simons, ICRAF Director General, said the book aims to help policymakers, civil society, scientists and land managers address the issue of how to integrate perspectives and outcomes in landscapes management. He said that “framing propositions” also speak to bigger implementation issues, such as the inadequacy of current metrics.

The book argues that climate-smartness is easier to achieve at the landscape level than at the farm or plot scale. It also explains how climate-smart landscapes aim to integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation with multiple social, economic and environmental objectives, while contributing to increasing food security, and improving climate adaptation and mitigation in a sustainable manner.

ICRAF is a member of the CGIAR consortium. [Publication: Climate-Smart Landscapes: Multifunctionality in Practice] [Book Launch Information] [Bioversity Press Release]