Integrated Landscape Management Practical Guide

All around the world, communities are facing critical challenges to their well-being, economies and nature because of degradation of their land, watersheds, forests, biodiversity and climate disruption. One major reason why is that today’s dominant economic and politically driven development models ignore their ultimate dependence on stable ecosystems and natural resources. Communities feel the impacts and increased conflict from rising food insecurity, infectious disease, water scarcity, business risks, extreme weather events and reduced farm productivity. Effective action is complicated by the legacy of historical silos and conflicts between agriculture, industry and environment; between rural and urban interests; and between public, private and civil society sectors.

Integrated landscape management (ILM) is a way of fostering resilient landscapes through long- term collaboration among multiple stakeholders. ILM explicitly recognizes the social, economic and ecological complexity of landscapes, which makes sector-specific planning and design inadequate. Working towards ILM requires reaching agreement on a shared landscape vision and strategy among stakeholders who have different and sometimes competing priorities, often with diverse interests, perspectives, influence, cultures and languages, and sometimes with histories of conflict.

Download ILM Practical Guide (PDF)

Getting started with the Practical Guide for ILM

To make the process easier, more effective and more inclusive, the 1000L initiative offers this Practical Guide to ILM. It provides a generic, locally adaptable, conceptual process and practical guidance for carrying out ILM. The guide is intended for LP conveners, facilitators, leaders, members and supporters. The process has five elements:

Integrated Landscape Management model
Integrated Landscape Management

ILM elements and outputs

For each element, we illustrate two to four concrete outputs that LPs can produce to demonstrate progress, and provide foundational materials to share with their partners.

Element 1. Landscape Partnership

Developing a robust and stable coalition of organizations in the landscape from across sectors and communities.

  1. Output 1.1. Stakeholder identification and engagement strategy
  2. Output 1.2. Landscape partnership agreement
  3. Output 1.3. Landscape partnership capacity and performance assessment
  4. Output 1.4. Partnership-strengthening strategy

Element 2. Shared Understanding

Building a common understanding of the state of the landscape, trends and forecasts, and one another’s interests.

  1. Output 2.1 Map of the landscape boundaries
  2. Output 2.2 Context analysis: landscape history, state and trends
  3. Output 2.3 Future scenarios
  4. Output 2.4 Assessment of landscape challenges and opportunities

Element 3. Vision and Planning

Forging a long-term vision, strategy, evaluation protocols and spatially targeted action plans.

  1. Output 3.1 Shared vision for a thriving landscape
  2. Output 3.2 Landscape strategy with long-term targets
  3. Output 3.3 Landscape action plan (short-term)
  4. Output 3.4 Landscape finance strategy

Element 4. Taking Action

Coordinating efforts, developing and financing an integrated landscape investment portfolio and tracking and communicating implementation.

  1. Output 4.1 Action plan tracker
  2. Output 4.2 Communications strategy
  3. Output 4.3 Landscape narratives
  4. Output 4.4 Landscape investment portfolio

Element 5. Impact and Learning

Measuring landscape impacts, capturing lessons learned and using them to adjust the landscape strategy and action plan.

  1. Output 5.1 Results and analysis of impact
  2. Output 5.2 Reflection and learning summaries