Course Focus
The landscape approach seeks to link site-level actions at farm or forest levels to the broader landscape or ecosystem level. Building on the successes and failures of sector-based strategic planning approaches, it provides a more robust cross-sector and integrated approach that can be used to contribute directly to agreed development goals for tackling poverty and ensuring environmental sustainability.
Why Landscape-Level Approaches?
As managers and planners concerned with natural resources, we need to take into account larger scale developments and trends such as decentralization and market development (for example, in tourism) to adapt and develop our practices. Besides, community (or site-based) planning approaches, however successful, can not readily cope with environmental and socioeconomic issues and opportunities beyond the community's immediate sphere of influence. This has highlighted the need for landscape-level approaches through which potentially conflicting resource functions can be addressed. Similarly, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which most countries have now ratified, calls on governments to implement an ecosystem approach to natural resource management that is underpinned by a set of guiding principles for best practices. These principles require coordination between sectors and decision making at different levels — including at the landscape level — and by different stakeholders implying a complex, multi-stakeholder process. The practical implementation of landscape approaches involves using iterative processes adapted for specific, local contexts. This will require new skills and combine various planning tools that may differ significantly from our conventional practices.
Aims and Objectives
The course offers participants an opportunity to familiarize themselves with current practices for landscape approaches. It will provide opportunities to develop practical skills and experience in the use of principles and tools applicable for landscape-level planning, monitoring, and implementation.
The course will equip participants to:
- Understand the context, principles, and relevance of landscape approaches for natural resources governance in today's world
- Understand how landscape-level planning processes can be developed and how they can be facilitated
- Become familiar with a variety of tools for landscape-level strategic planning and gain experience in applying and adapting these in real-life situations
- Understand how landscape approaches can contribute to improved decision making, sustainable management, and monitoring of natural resources
- Training Methods
- A variety of training approaches will be used. As with all our courses, the style will be participatory and hands-on. Course facilitators will encourage "learning by doing." Participants are expected to bring their own material to the course, allowing them to share their experiences with others. A web-based learning platform supports participants in applying their individual action plans and learning in their work situations.
Course Program
The training program is spread over two weeks and includes three days of field work in Thailand to gain practical experience and skills.
The main themes covered during the course will include*:
Concepts
- Principles and evolution of landscape-level planning from a systems perspective, with ample attention to the complexity and uncertainty of landscape-level processes
- Social learning principles for landscape-level approaches
Processes
- Design and facilitation of iterative landscape-level planning processes
- Defining and valuing landscape functions
- Multi-stakeholder concepts and processes
- Institutional analysis and institutional change
- Conflict analysis and transformation
Field Practice
- Opportunities to learn about, practice using, and adapt a range of tools and skills relevant for landscape-level approaches based on the principles of action learning
Implementation
- Decision-making and resource allocation in a multi-stakeholder setting
- Crafting institutional arrangements for effective implementation and good governance
- Monitoring for landscape-level impact
Partners
This course is jointly developed and implemented by RECOFTC – The Center for Forests and People and Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation.
Certificate
Participants are granted a Certificate of Attendance.
Admission Requirements
Participants should be experienced professionals with several years of working experience in their subject matter area as well as competency in the English language.
Tuition and Fees
The tuition fee is US$2,965 per participant. It covers all training expenses, course materials, and health insurance while in Thailand, as well as all costs incurred during the field visit (meals, accommodation, and transport). Please budget an extra US$12 per day while in Thailand to cover meals and incidental fees.
Accommodation is available in a private, air-conditioned room at RECOFTC's Bangkok facilities for an additional US$180 per participant for the duration of the course.
Fellowships
A limited number of fellowships are available from the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) for applicants from South and Southeast Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam). Applications for NFP fellowships should be submitted to Wageningen International before 29 April 2010. For additional information on fellowships, visit www.nuffic.nl/nfp**.
Applications
The admission deadline for application directly to Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation is 21 October 2011. For additional information and online application, visit www.cdi.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda.
*RECOFTC and Wageningen reserve the right to change the program.
**Unfortunately, RECOFTC and Wageningen cannot provide any funds to finance the participants and are also unable to assist applicants in obtaining sponsorship.