Welcome to our FTA newsletter #5 with a focus on Landscape management for environmental services, biodiversity conservation and livelihoods—in the run up to the 2016 Global Landscapes Forum. The good news is that the CGIAR System Council has just approved 11 Research Programs, including FTA. In this issue, we take a look at the soon to be refreshed Landscapes Portal, Indonesia’s forest moratorium, children’s diets in different landscapes and a land restoration success story, among others. This will be my last newsletter addressed to you, as my successor Vincent Gitz will take over the job of FTA Director on 1 November. I wish him good luck and success as he will steer FTA into the next phase. I feel privileged that I had the chance to help build this Research Program and am confident it will continue to deliver meaningful results which will positively impact people’s lives and, of course, I will still remain involved and contribute to the success of our joint efforts.

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New CGIAR FTA Director to start on 1 November

From 1 November, the CGIAR FTA will have a new Director. French national Vincent Gitz joins the program from the French Ministry of Agriculture, Agrifood and Forestry, where he served as Assistant Director for Food Policy. Read more about him here.
 

New insights from an old project

The Shinyanga land restoration project is a favorite tale in the development aid and research communities. Scientists with the CGIAR FTA hope that it can now be a model for the new land restoration movement and teach a lesson or two about climate-smart landscapes. Find out why.

Be part of the 2016 Global Landscapes Forum in Marrakesh

The UNFCCC COP 22 is approaching fast and so is this year’s Global Landscapes Forum, the biggest event under the CGIAR FTA. There is still time to present your organization, enterprise or idea on climate action for sustainable development. Find out here what you can do.

How to make Indonesia’s forest moratorium more effective

If Indonesia combined a forest moratorium with livelihood support for the local population it could significantly reduce its CO2 emissions, a CGIAR FTA study suggests. Researchers modelled the effects of three different scenarios for two districts in Kalimantan. The results were striking.

Linking landscapes to children’s diets in Indonesia

Do children eat better close to trees? This conclusion might be a bit daring. But it seems to be true that kids living in tree-dominated landscapes have healthier diets than kids living in the same regions without trees. This is what a new study under the CGIAR FTA suggests. Read more here.

Landscape Portal gearing up for next phase

The Landscape Portal with its interactive maps, e.g. on the CGIAR FTA Sentinel Landscapes project, has matured over the past five years. This open-source, interactive tool counts between 100 and 300 users per day from all over the world. For the next phase scientists promise more features and improved ease of use. Find out more here.

Could timber plantations boost forest conservation?

Large-scale monoculture timber plantations don’t have the best reputation, especially not among conservationists. But what if they actually benefitted forest conservation? How? By easing pressure on natural forests, scientists under the CGIAR FTA suggest after reviewing a wealth of literature on the question. Find out more here.

Sulawesi district wants to keep FTA agroforestry project

The district of Buol in Sulawesi, Indonesia thinks it is smart to stick with the useful Smart-Tree Invest project, co-funded by the CGIAR FTA. After four years, the project that aims to improve smallholder livelihoods through agroforestry will run out in 2017. Now the district government has made a smart move to keep it going.

Sustainable landscape management needs a practical push

CGIAR FTA scientists have been advocating for a landscape approach to land use management for a long time. Still, it is difficult to find concrete examples of where landscape approaches have worked. But that could change if the different land use sectors exchanged their views and experiences. An upcoming event wants to foster exactly that.

Soils and seeds

How are biodiversity and ecosystem services linked? This is one of the questions addressed in the recently published Handbook of Ecosystem Services to which CGIAR FTA researchers have contributed. One chapter in the book focuses specifically on soil biodiversity. The authors argue that we need to know more about this hidden biodiversity. And about the ways plants and soil interact to provide the ecosystem services that are required for sustainable agriculture.

A virtuous cycle of virtually no waste

Despite impressive economic growth in Asia and the Pacific, over half a billion people in the region still go hungry. Climate-smart agriculture, including agroforestry, has huge potential to improve food security and address climate change at the same time. Experts at a recent Asian Development Bank event discussed what should be done to expand such practices and bring greater benefits to more people. Read blog one and two.