Skip to main content
Log in

Measuring the effectiveness of landscape approaches to conservation and development

  • Overview Article
  • Published:
Sustainability Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Landscape approaches attempt to achieve balance amongst multiple goals over long time periods and to adapt to changing conditions. We review project reports and the literature on integrated landscape approaches, and found a lack of documented studies of their long-term effectiveness. The combination of multiple and potentially changing goals presents problems for the conventional measures of impact. We propose more critical use of theories of change and measures of process and progress to complement the conventional impact assessments. Theories of change make the links between project deliverables, outputs, outcomes, and impacts explicit, and allow a full exploration of the landscape context. Landscape approaches are long-term engagements, but short-term process metrics are needed to confirm that progress is being made in negotiation of goals, meaningful stakeholder engagement, existence of connections to policy processes, and effectiveness of governance. Long-term impact metrics are needed to assess progress on achieving landscapes that deliver multiple societal benefits, including conservation, production, and livelihood benefits. Generic criteria for process are proposed, but impact metrics will be highly situation specific and must be derived from an effective process and a credible theory of change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agostini V, Grantham H, Wilson J, Mangubhai S, Rotinsulu C, Hidayat N, Muljadi A, Muhajir MM, Darmawan A, Rumetna L (2012) Achieving fisheries and conservation objectives within marine protected areas: zoning the Raja Ampat network. The Nature Conservancy, Indonesia Marine Program, Denpasar, Inodnesia

  • Agrawal A, Chhatre A (2006) Explaining success on the commons: community forest governance in the Indian Himalaya. World Dev 34:149–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich M (2007) In practice: landscape outcomes assessment methodology “LOAM”. WWF Forests for Life Programme, Gland, Switzerland

  • Álvarez-Romero JG, Adams VM, Pressey RL, Douglas M, Dale AP, Augé AA, Ball D, Childs J, Digby M, Dobbs R (2015) Integrated cross-realm planning: a decision-makers’ perspective. Biol Conserv 191:799–808

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angelsen A, Rudel TK (2013) Designing and implementing effective REDD + policies: a forest transition approach. Rev Environ Econ Policy 7:91–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APRIL Group (2015) Restorasi Ekosistem Riau [Online]. http://www.rekoforest.org. Accessed 15 June 2016

  • Atzberger C (2013) Advances in remote sensing of agriculture: context description, existing operational monitoring systems and major information needs. Remote Sens 5:949–981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balint PJ, Stewart RE, Desai A (2011) Wicked environmental problems: managing uncertainty and conflict. Island Press, Washington DC, USA

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bauch SC, Sills EO, Pattanayak SK (2014) Have we managed to integrate conservation and development? ICDP impacts in the Brazilian Amazon. World Dev 64:S135–S148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baylis K, Honey-Rosés J, Börner J, Corbera E, Ezzine-De-blas D, Ferraro PJ, Lapeyre R, Persson UM, Pfaff A, Wunder S (2016) Mainstreaming impact evaluation in nature conservation. Conserv Lett 9(1):58–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bensted-Smith R, Kirkman H (2010) Comparison of approaches to management of large marine areas. Fauna & Flora International, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Boedhihartono AK (2012) Visualizing sustainable landscapes: understanding and negotiating conservation and development trade-offs using visual techniques. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland

    Google Scholar 

  • Boedhihartono AK, Sayer J (2012) Forest landscape restoration: restoring what and for whom?. Forest landscape restoration, Springer, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks N, Anderson S, Burton I, Fisher S, Rai N, Ellam I (2013) An operational framework for Tracking Adaptation and Measuring Development (TAMD). IIED climate change working paper, IIED, London, UK

  • Browder JO (2002) Conservation and development projects in the Brazilian Amazon: lessons from the community initiative program in Rondonia. Environ Manag 29:750–762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buck LE, Scherr SJ (2009) Building innovation systems for managing complex landscapes. The Sciences and Art of Adaptive Management: Innovating for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management. Soil and Water Conservation Society, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Buck LE, Milder JC, Gavin TA, Mukherjee I (2006) Understanding ecoagriculture: a framework for measuring landscape performance. Cornell University, New York and Ecoagriculture Partners, Washington DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell B, Sayer JA, Frost P, Vermeulen S, Pérez MR, Cunningham A, Prabhu R (2003) Assessing the performance of natural resource systems. Integrated natural resource management: linking productivity, environment and development. CABI Publ. and Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Wallingford, UK and Bogor, Indonesia, pp 267–292

  • Castella J-C, Bourgoin J, Lestrelin G, Bouahom B (2014) A model of the science–practice–policy interface in participatory land-use planning: lessons from Laos. Landsc Ecol 29:1095–1107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers R (1994) The origins and practice of participatory rural appraisal. World Dev 22:953–969

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark WC, Tomich TP, Van Noordwijk M, Guston D, Catacutan D, Dickson NM, Mcnie E (2011) Boundary work for sustainable development: Natural resource management at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 200900231

  • Constantino PDAL, Carlos HSA, Ramalho EE, Rostant L, Marinelli CE, Teles D, Fonseca-Junior SF, Fernandes RB, Valsecchi J (2012) Empowering local people through community-based resource monitoring: a comparison of Brazil and Namibia. Ecol Soc 17:22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dale A, Vella K, Pressey RL, Brodie J, Yorkston H, Potts R (2013) A method for risk analysis across governance systems: a Great Barrier Reef case study. Environ Res Lett 8:015037

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dale AP, Pressey B, Adams VM, Álvarez-Romero JG, Digby M, Dobbs R, Douglas M, Auge AA, Maughan M, Childs J (2014) Catchment-scale governance in northern Australia: a preliminary evaluation. J Econ Soc Policy 16:6

    Google Scholar 

  • Defries RS, Ellis EC, Chapin FS, Matson PA, Turner B, Agrawal A, Crutzen PJ, Field C, Gleick P, Kareiva PM (2012) Planetary opportunities: a social contract for global change science to contribute to a sustainable future. Bioscience 62:603–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis EC, Ramankutty N (2008) Putting people in the map: anthropogenic biomes of the world. Front Ecol Environ 6:439–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Endamana D, Boedhihartono AK, Bokoto B, Defo L, Eyebe A, Ndikumagenge C, Nzooh Z, Ruiz-Perez M, Sayer JA (2010) A framework for assessing conservation and development in a Congo Basin Forest Landscape. Trop Conserv Sci 3:262–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Carmona N, Hart AK, Declerck FA, Harvey CA, Milder JC (2014) Integrated landscape management for agriculture, rural livelihoods, and ecosystem conservation: an assessment of experience from Latin America and the Caribbean. Landsc Urban Plan 129:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher B, Balmford A, Ferraro PJ, Glew L, Mascia M, Naidoo R, Ricketts TH (2014) Moving Rio forward and avoiding 10 more years with little evidence for effective conservation policy. Conserv Biol 28:880–882

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frost P, Campbell B, Medina G, Usongo L (2006) Landscape-scale approaches for integrated natural resource management in tropical forest landscapes. Ecol Soc 11:30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garnett ST, Sayer J, du Toit J (2007) Improving the effectiveness of interventions to balance conservation and development: a conceptual framework. Ecol Soc 12:2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • German L, Mansoor H, Alemu G, Mazengia W, Amede T, Stroud A (2007) Participatory integrated watershed management: evolution of concepts and methods in an ecoregional program of the eastern African highlands. Agric Syst 94:189–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gollin D, Probst LT (2015) Food and agriculture: shifting landscapes for policy. Oxford Revi Econ Policy 31:8–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Görg C (2007) Landscape governance: the “politics of scale” and the “natural” conditions of places. Geoforum 38:954–966

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grober-Dunsmore R, Pittman SJ, Caldow C, Kendall MS, Frazer TK (2009) A landscape ecology approach for the study of ecological connectivity across tropical marine seascapes. In: Nagelkerken I (ed) Ecological connectivity among tropical coastal ecosystems. Springer, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta A (2010) Transparency in global environmental governance: a coming of age? Glob Environ Politics 10:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen M, Potapov P, Moore R, Hancher M, Turubanova S, Tyukavina A, Thau D, Stehman S, Goetz S, Loveland T (2013) High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science 342:850–853

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey CA, Chacon M, Donatti CI, Garen E, Hannah L, Andrade A, Bede L, Brown D, Calle A, Chara J (2014) Climate-smart landscapes: opportunities and challenges for integrating adaptation and mitigation in tropical agriculture. Conserv Lett 7:77–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kapos V, Balmford A, Aveling R, Bubb P, Carey P, Entwistle A, Hopkins J, Mulliken T, Safford R, Stattersfield A (2009) Outcomes, not implementation, predict conservation success. Oryx 43:336–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kissinger G, Moroge M, Noponen M (2015) Private sector investment in landscape approaches: the role of production standards and certification. In: Minang PA, van Noordwijk M, Freeman OE, Mbow C, de Leeuw J, Catacutan D (eds) Climate-smart landscapes: multifunctionality in practice. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutter A, Westby LD (2014) Managing rural landscapes in the context of a changing climate. Dev Pract 24:544–558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence A, Paudel K, Barnes R, Malla Y (2006) Adaptive value of participatory biodiversity monitoring in community forestry. Environ Conserv 33:325–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manetti G (2011) The quality of stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting: empirical evidence and critical points. Corp Soc Responsib Environ Manag 18:110–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansourian S (2016) Understanding the relationship between governance and forest landscape restoration. Conserv Soc 14:267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margules C, Sarker S (2007) Systematic conservation planning. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Milder JC, Buck LE, Declerck F, Scherr SJ (2012) Landscape approaches to achieving food production, natural resource conservation, and the millennium development goals. Integrating ecology and poverty reduction. Springer, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Milder JC, Hart AK, Dobie P, Minai J, Zaleski C (2014) Integrated landscape initiatives for african agriculture, development, and conservation: a region-wide assessment. World Dev 54:68–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller DC (2014) Explaining global patterns of international aid for linked biodiversity conservation and development. World Dev 59:341–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minang PA, van Noordwijk M, Freeman OE, Mbow C, de Leeuw J, Catacutan D (2014) Climate-smart landscapes: multifunctionality in practice. ASB Partnership for The Tropical Forest margins, World Agroforestry center, Nairobi, Kenya

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson E, Mendoza G, Regetz J, Polasky S, Tallis H, Cameron D, Chan KM, Daily GC, Goldstein J, Kareiva PM (2009) Modeling multiple ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, commodity production, and tradeoffs at landscape scales. Front Ecol Environ 7:4–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD-DAC (2002) Glossary of key terms in evaluation and results-based management. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (2009) A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social–ecological systems. Science 325:419–422

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pfund J-L (2010) Landscape-scale research for conservation and development in the tropics: fighting persisting challenges. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 2:117–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prinsen G, Nijhof S (2015) Between logframes and theory of change: reviewing debates and a practical experience. Dev Pract 25(2):234–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed J, Deakin L, Sunderland T (2015) What are "Integrated Landscape Approaches" and how effectively have they been implemented in the tropics: a systematic map protocol. Environ Evid 4(1):1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed J, van Vianen J, Deakin EL, Barlow J, Sunderland T (2016) Integrated landscape approaches to managing social and environmental issues in the tropics: learning from the past to guide the future. Glob Change Biol 22:2540–2554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riggs RA, Sayer J, Margules C, Boedhihartono AK, Langston JD, Sutanto H (2016) Forest tenure and conflict in Indonesia: contested rights in Rempek Village, Lombok. Land Use Policy 57:241–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roe D, Day M, Booker F, Zhou W, Allebone-Webb S, Kümpel N, Hill NA, Wright J, Rust N, Sunderland TC (2014) Are alternative livelihood projects effective at reducing local threats to specified elements of biodiversity and/or improving or maintaining the conservation status of those elements?: a systematic review protocol. Environ Evid 3:6. doi:10.1186/2047-2382-3-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosa I, Ahmed SE, Ewers RM (2014) The transparency, reliability and utility of tropical rainforest land-use and land-cover change models. Glob Change Biol 20:1707–1722

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rounsevell MD, Pedroli B, Erb K-H, Gramberger M, Busck AG, Haberl H, Kristensen S, Kuemmerle T, Lavorel S, Lindner M (2012) Challenges for land system science. Land Use Policy 29:899–910

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudel TK, Coomes OT, Moran E, Achard F, Angelsen A, Xu J, Lambin E (2005) Forest transitions: towards a global understanding of land use change. Glob Environ Change 15:23–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandker M, Campbell BM, Nzooh Z, Sunderland T, Amougou V, Defo L, Sayer J (2009) Exploring the effectiveness of integrated conservation and development interventions in a Central African forest landscape. Biodivers Conserv 18:2875–2892

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandker M, Campbell BM, Ruiz-Perez M, Sayer JA, Cowling R, Kassa H, Knight AT (2010) The role of participatory modeling in landscape approaches to reconcile conservation and development. Ecol Soc 15(2):13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar S, Dyer JS, Margules C, Ciarleglio M, Kemp N, Wong G, Juhn D, Supriatna J (2016) Developing an objectives hierarchy for multicriteria decisions on land use options, with a case study of biodiversity conservation and forestry production from Papua, Indonesia. Environ Plan Plan Design 0265813516641684

  • Sayer JA (2009) Reconciling conservation and development: are landscapes the answer? Biotropica 41:649–652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayer J, Campbell BM (2004) The science of sustainable development: local livelihoods and the global environment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Sayer J, Bull G, Elliott C (2008) Mediating forest transitions: ‘Grand design’ or ‘Muddling through’. Conserv Soc 6:320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayer J, Sunderland T, Ghazoul J, Pfund J-L, Sheil D, Meijaard E, Venter M, Boedhihartono AK, Day M, Garcia C (2013) Ten principles for a landscape approach to reconciling agriculture, conservation, and other competing land uses. Proc Natl Acad Sci 110:8349–8356

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sayer J, Margules C, Boedhihartono AK, Dale A, Sunderland T, Supriatna J, Saryanthi R (2014) Landscape approaches; what are the pre-conditions for success? Sust Sci 10(2):345–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayer J, Margules C, Bohnet I, Boedhihartono A, Pierce R, Dale A, Andrews K (2015) The role of citizen science in landscape and seascape approaches to integrating conservation and development. Land 4:1200–1212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayer J, Endamana D, Boedhihartono A, Ruiz Pérez M, Breuer T (2016) Learning from change in the Sangha Tri-national landscape. Int For Rev Spec Issue Valuing Cameroonian For 18(1):130–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherr SJ, Shames S, Friedman R (2012) From climate-smart agriculture to climate-smart landscapes. Agric Food Secur 1:1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shames S, Hill Clarvis M, Kissinger G (2014) Financing strategies for integrated landscape investment. Landscapes for People, Food and Nature, Washington DC, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Sloan S (2015) The development-driven forest transition and its utility for REDD+. Ecol Econ 116:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith RJ, Veríssimo D, Leader-Williams N, Cowling RM, Knight AT (2009) Let the locals lead. Nature 462:280–281

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stern E, Stame N, Mayne J, Forss K, Davies R, Befani B (2012) Broadening the range of designs and methods for impact evaluations. Report of a study commissioned by the Department for International Development, London, UK

  • Stiglitz JE, Sen A, Fitoussi J-P (2010) Mismeasuring our lives: why GDP doesn’t add up. New Press, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokes EJ, Strindberg S, Bakabana PC, Elkan PW, Iyenguet FC, Madzoké B, Malanda GAF, Mowawa BS, Moukoumbou C, Ouakabadio FK (2010) Monitoring great ape and elephant abundance at large spatial scales: measuring effectiveness of a conservation landscape. PLoS ONE 5:e10294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunderland T, Sayer J, Minh-Ha H (2012) Evidence-based conservation: lessons from the Lower Mekong. Routledge, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Tress B, Tress G (2001) Capitalising on multiplicity: a transdisciplinary systems approach to landscape research. Landsc Urban Plan 57:143–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel I (2012) Review of the use of ‘Theory of Change’ in international development. Department for International Development (DFID), London, UK

  • Wasseige de C, Devers D, de Marcken P, Eba’aatyi R, Nasi R, Mayaux P (2010) The forests of the Congo basin: state of the forest 2008. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss CH (1997) Theory-based evaluation: past, present, and future. New directions for evaluation 1997:41–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Hobbs R (2002) Key issues and research priorities in landscape ecology: an idiosyncratic synthesis. Landsc Ecol 17:355–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young OR, Berkhout F, Gallopin GC, Janssen MA, Ostrom E, van der Leeuw S (2006) The globalization of socio-ecological systems: an agenda for scientific research. Glob Environ Change 16:304–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper resulted from a meeting held in North Queensland, Australia. Funding for the meeting was provided by the Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia, and the Center for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science of James Cook University, Cairns, Australia. We thank workshop participants and three anonymous reviewers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeffrey A. Sayer.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Handled by Iris Bohnet, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Australia.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sayer, J.A., Margules, C., Boedhihartono, A.K. et al. Measuring the effectiveness of landscape approaches to conservation and development. Sustain Sci 12, 465–476 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0415-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0415-z

Keywords

Navigation