LandScale Pilots

Innovator Pilots

Over the coming months, new landscapes from around the world will test version 0.2 of LandScale ahead of the full launch in 2021. 

RIO GRANDE DO SUL



Focus: Demonstrating the broader sustainability benefits of commercial reforestation to provide market differentiation, secure additional investment, and deliver impact at scale

Location: Bagé municipality, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Lead Partner: The Green Branch

CHALLENGES

Extensive cattle ranching and soy production have contributed to the degradation of the natural vegetation and soil in the Bagé municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, making business as usual unsustainable. Yet, most local landowners are not convinced that restoring the land with native forest and agroforestry systems can provide an economically viable alternative.

USING LANDSCALE

The Green Branch will use LandScale’s holistic framework to demonstrate the benefits of commercial reforestation beyond carbon sequestration at the project level to local stakeholders, carbon-credit buyers, and financiers. Tracking landscape-level improvements in areas important to local landowners will encourage wider buy-in for the initiative, thus unlocking opportunities to scale the reforestation efforts. Credibly communicating the broader sustainability benefits of reforestation will also help differentiate the carbon credits from this project in the market and may prove beneficial in attracting additional sustainable financing in the future.

CAQUETÁ



Focus: Assessing and communicating progress in the implementation of Caquetá’s Low Emissions Rural Development Strategy in order to inform public investment and planning and attract new sources of funding for the work

Location: Department of Caquetá, Amazon region, Colombia

Lead Partner: Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia

CHALLENGES

Until 2019, Caquetá had one of the highest rates of deforestation in the country, resulting in soil degradation and biodiversity loss. Extensive cattle ranching, which contributes 10% of the Department’s GDP, as well as land grabbing and illicit activities, have been key drivers of this environmental degradation. The department of Caquetá has created a Low Emissions Rural Development (LED-R) strategy to reverse the trend of deforestation and develop sustainable models of production and incentives for conservation.

USING LANDSCALE

The LandScale assessment will provide important information for understanding where Caquetá is on its road to low emissions rural development. The results will be integrated into a decision-making platform for the LED-R strategy, which will be used by the regional government to inform public investment and planning. The results of the LandScale assessment will also provide credible information about the state of sustainability in the Caquetá department, which can help to connect the jurisdiction to new sources of funding for efforts to reduce deforestation and adapt to climate change.

CAQUETÁ & META



Focus: Assessing and communicating the impact of a jurisdictional approach with the aim of promoting sustainable cocoa, coffee, rubber, and palm oil production systems as cross-commodity alternatives to extensive livestock farming

Location: Caquetá and Meta departments in the Amazon and Orinoco regions, Colombia

Lead Partner: GIZ

CHALLENGES

The Caquetá and Meta departments have become the heart of the agricultural frontier as a result of the peace process in Colombia. While the expansion of coffee, cocoa, palm oil, and rubber production offers promise for the region’s post-conflict development, it also poses a threat to these biodiverse Amazon ecosystems. Managing the landscape in a way that conserves these unique ecosystems whilst also promoting sustainable rural development is crucial for Colombia and the world.

USING LANDSCALE

LandScale will be used to assess the impact of the Multi-Stakeholder-Platform that is working to conserve the forest and other important ecosystems, while also enhancing human livelihoods through the development of sustainable cocoa, coffee, and palm oil production. The ability to demonstrate progress through credible, data-based claims will help to attract further investment for the work from other stakeholders in these value chains.


KAPUAS HULU



Focus: Evaluating and demonstrating the impact of a jurisdictional approach that was initiated in 2017 with the primary aim of increasing the sustainability of rubber and palm oil production in the landscape

Location: Kapuas Hulu District, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Lead Partner: GIZ

CHALLENGES

In 2019, the entire Kapuas Hulu district was designated as a UN Biosphere Reserve, reflecting the global importance of the tropical forest that covers almost 75% of this landscape and the unique culture and biodiversity associated with it. Sustainable rubber and palm oil production offer enticing development opportunities for rural populations with limited access to education and other key infrastructure. However, the expansion of these sectors in other areas has frequently been associated with social conflict, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.

USING LANDSCALE

LandScale will be used to assess the impact of the Multi-Stakeholder-Platform that is working to address sustainability risks and conserve the forest, while also enhancing human livelihoods through sustainable rubber and palm oil production. The ability to demonstrate progress through credible, data-based claims will help to attract further investment for this work from other stakeholders in the rubber and palm oil value chains.


ANTIOQUIA



Focus: Differentiating the carbon and biodiversity credits generated from a REDD+ project and a biodiversity habitat bank scheme to generate additional funding to strengthen the resilience of communities, ecosystems, and regional economies

Location: Alejandría, Guardasol, and Alicante river basins in the Northeast and Magdalena Medio region of Antioquia, Colombia

Lead Partner: Southpole

CHALLENGES

This region is on the frontier of agricultural expansion in Colombia. Cocoa production and cattle grazing are important products. The area is also subject to illegal mining and extraction of flora. Deforestation is rife, putting the unique biodiversity, including iconic species such as the jaguar and blue-billed curassow, at risk due to habitat loss and fragmentation. More funding is needed for efforts to drive improvements that build a long-term sustainable productive landscape that supports local livelihoods.

USING LANDSCALE

A LandScale assessment will promote improved understanding of the key landscape sustainability issues, help better align public and private sector efforts to address them, and serve as a common and transparent framework for measuring and communicating the cumulative impact of these efforts to both local stakeholders and buyers of carbon and biodiversity credits from the REDD+ and biodiversity conservation projects in the landscape. Independent verification of landscape-scale improvements will help to differentiate credits in the market by making them a more attractive prospect for investors, thus funneling additional funding into the landscape.


CIBAO



Focus: Assessing and communicating the impact of sustainable practices and climate-smart technology to improve landscape management decisions

Location: Bajabonico river watershed, North Cibao Region, Dominican Republic

Lead Partner: Dominican Agribusiness Board, NCBA CLUSA

CHALLENGES

The Bajabonico river watershed is the primary source of water for agriculture livestock activities in the landscape and supplies drinking water to almost all the towns in the province’s western region. Yet, land-use changes have degraded the soil and increased its vulnerability to drought and climate change. Lack of rain, the indiscriminate felling of trees, and the extraction of materials and aggregates for construction from the river beds generate water shortages for the local population and create an uncertain situation for agricultural activities.


USING LANDSCALE

LandScale will be used to quantitatively show the impact of restoration activities and the promotion and adoption of climate-smart practices and technology among farmers and dairy producers in the landscape. The assessment will also be used to inform management and production decision-making processes and to communicate progress achieved to customers down the value chain.


MINDO



Focus: Communicating the positive impact of forest restoration work on tourism, agriculture, and other economic activities in the landscape

Location: Pachijal and other watersheds in Quito, San Miguel de Los Bancos, Pedro Vicente Maldonado, and Puerto Quito, Ecuador

Lead Partner: Mindo Cloudforest Foundation

CHALLENGES

The ongoing expansion of the agricultural frontier, which began with different Agrarian Reform laws of the 1960s and ’70s, has resulted in a heavily fragmented landscape. In the last decades, various speculative crops like oil palm and heart-of-palm have increased several-fold, driving deforestation in the lower parts of the region. Where poorly managed, these activities, along with more traditional dairy and beef cattle farming, continue the degradation of soils and forest connectivity. These land-use change drivers, the general fragmentation of the landscape, and a relatively high number of subsistence farmers put the landscape’s sustainability at risk.


USING LANDSCALE

LandScale will be used to demonstrate how the wildlife corridor restoration and conservation efforts help create new sources of revenue from CO2 sequestration, increase income from tourism and agricultural activities, and improve soil and water quality to expand their current capacity. By credibly communicating their impact, the foundation hopes to drive support for their work and encourage participation from local landowners.


ARGAN BIOSPHERE RESERVE



Focus: Providing credible and independent information about sustainability trends in the Argan Biosphere Reserve to drive uptake from international markets for a new Argan Ecolabel

Location: The Argan Biosphere Reserve, Southwest Morocco


Lead Partner: UNDP Morocco and the Argan Ecolabel Management Authority (Abr Ema)

CHALLENGES

The Argan tree is endemic to the plains between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains and the Atlantic Coast in Southwest Morocco. The tree can survive in challenging environmental conditions, including drought, and acts as an essential buffer against desertification from the Sahara. Unfortunately, the Argan forests have been severely degraded due to overgrazing and overexploitation for wood, food, medicine, and cosmetics.


USING LANDSCALE

With support from the United Nations Development Program and the Global Environment Facility, a management plan has been developed to rehabilitate 50,000 ha of Argan forest. Businesses within the Biosphere Reserve that comply with the agreed sustainability requirements can use an Ecolabel to distinguish their products and services, including Argan oil, honey, goat products, handicrafts, and tourism. LandScale will provide credible and independent information about sustainability trends in the Argan Biosphere Reserve to demonstrate the positive impact of the Ecolabel to buyers.


LA FRAYLESCA



Focus: Accurately assessing and communicating the impact of a public-private partnership to enable prosperous coffee farming to co-exist alongside thriving communities and healthy ecosystems


Location: Villa Corzo & Villaflores municipalities, part of La Fraylesca region, Chiapas state, Mexico

Lead Partner: Olam Agro México and Rainforest Alliance México

CHALLENGES

Coffee production is increasing in Chiapas, one of the key coffee-producing regions in Mexico. However, climate change is impacting productivity and will continue to drive coffee production into higher elevation areas, where protected areas and the most diverse ecosystems are located. The current trend in agricultural expansion is resulting in uncontrolled fires becoming increasingly frequent. The resulting deforestation and degradation pose a significant threat to ecosystems, productive landscapes, and the local population´s safety.


USING LANDSCALE

In partnership with key stakeholders in the landscape, the Rainforest Alliance and Olam are working with farmers to improve coffee quality, productivity, and access to the market. They’re also working to restore degraded agricultural land and reduce timber harvesting by promoting circular coffee economies and collaboration to tackle fires. LandScale assessments will enable the partners to communicate their impact credibly to Olam AtSource Infinity customers, USAID, and other key stakeholders to strengthen participation and support for the work.


SOUTH PENNINES



Focus: Unlocking private sector investment in efforts to improve ecosystem services through credible, independent, and quantitative communication of impact


Location: South Pennines National Character Area, United Kingdom


Lead Partner: Soil Association

CHALLENGES

The Southern Pennines area is not formally protected, lying between two National Parks, yet they support moorland habitats of international importance, rare biodiversity, and carbon-rich peat soils. Furthermore, nearby urban populations are dependent on this area for both water and recreation. Future challenges for the site include managing the land to reduce downstream flooding, restore blanket bog, improve water quality, and manage increased recreational demand.


USING LANDSCALE

LandScale will provide the diverse stakeholders involved in the South Pennines partnership with a common framework to understand and track the landscape’s key sustainability issues. Credible and independent evidence of improvements in the landscape’s fundamental attributes will help unlock private sector investment in ecosystem service improvement at scale. For example, the water companies supplying water to the local towns may be more inclined to invest in efforts to manage the watershed if the partnership can demonstrate the impact of these efforts in a way that resonates with them.

 

KUNZILA



Focus: Monitoring and reporting critical sustainability trends in the Kunzila watershed to demonstrate the impact of sustainable development efforts at a landscape scale


Location: The Kunzila watershed in the Lake Tana sub-basin of the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia


Lead Partner: The Water Land and Resources Centre (WLRC), Ethiopia and the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Switzerland

CHALLENGES

Two-thirds of the Kunzila landscape is intensively cultivated with mostly grains, and some vegetables and fruits. However, low productivity due to land degradation and climate change means that poverty, food insecurity, and poor standards of health and hygiene are widespread. Poor infrastructure and social services, such as roads, electricity, water supply, health, and education, are also some of the key socio-economic challenges in the area. The establishment of five international horticulture operations in the landscape promises much-needed employment to about 10,000 people but also has the potential to have negative environmental and social impacts, unless properly managed.


USING LANDSCALE

LandScale will be used to communicate the impact of ambitious efforts that are underway by public and private sector actors to promote sustainable development in the Kunzila watershed at a landscape scale. For the horticulture companies, assessments will offer a credible way to allay fears that expansion of this sector could have negative environmental and social impacts in this watershed and demonstrate positive socio-economic and ecological impacts. The results of assessments will also be used to inform future policy and decision making for the watershed and drive interest in the work internationally.

 

CALDAS



Focus: Monitoring and communicating the impact at the landscape level of conservation and restoration activities to attract new investment for the area’s environmental management

Location: Chinchiná river basin, Caldas Department, Colombia

Lead Partner: Vivo Cuenca & The Nature Conservancy 

CHALLENGES
The expansion of agricultural activities in the Chinchiná river basin has generated losses in the natural cover, jeopardizing water quality, increasing erosion, and threatening the livability of the area for people in the region. The Vivo Cuenca water fund aims to generate sustainable production models that improve the livelihoods of the inhabitants in the basin while protecting important environmental areas.

USING LANDSCALE
Vivo Cuenca will conduct a LandScale assessment to determine the impact of their interventions and their contribution to local plans which aim to protect the ecological sustainability of the territory through conservation and restoration actions and better governance. The evaluation results will inform decisions around these efforts and attract potential investors to support the environmental management of the area.

Core Pilots

These pilots have been involved since the early stages of LandScale. They tested version 0.1 of LandScale and gave valuable input into the development of version 0.2.

Juabeso Bia & Kakum



Focus: Evaluating and communicating progress at the landscape level toward ambitious REDD+ and Cocoa and Forest Initiative commitments

Location: Juabeso Bia and Kakum Hotspot Intervention Areas, Ghana

Lead Partner: Nature Conservation Resource Centre (NCRC)

CHALLENGES

Ghana is the second-largest producer of cocoa in the world and has one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa. Cocoa farming expansion is the primary driver of deforestation in Ghana’s tropical high forests. This growing trend threatens biodiversity (in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots), increases GHG emissions, and puts cocoa production at risk by degrading the ecosystem, thereby jeopardizing farmers’ and forest-users’ livelihoods.

USING LANDSCALE

In 2017, Ghana and several leading cocoa and chocolate companies joined the Cocoa & Forests Initiative to end deforestation and restore forest areas. Partners in two cocoa-producing landscapes, Juabeso-Bia and Kakum, are using LandScale’s ready-made framework to assess whether their investments, strategies, and field activities effectively address challenges connected to their CFI commitments. The partners will also use LandScale to communicate their progress to gain further support for their work.

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San José



Focus: Building support and attracting investment for the Agua Tica Water Fund by defining common goals, tracking progress, and credibly communicating results

Location: Greater San José metropolitan watershed, Costa Rica

Lead Partners: International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Fundecor

CHALLENGES

The watershed for the Costa Rican capital, San José, provides water for hundreds of thousands of people and some of the country’s biggest industries, including the beverage sector, electricity production, coffee, and others. However, rapid urbanization has resulted in degradation and strained water resources. The watershed must preserve and restore water catchment areas to ensure water for the capital’s people and economy.

USING LANDSCALE

The Agua Tica Water Fund – established by public and private groups in the region – implements restoration and conservation actions for the San José watershed. By using LandScale to define common goals and milestones, Agua Tica can catalyze collective action and ensure the combined efforts of different programs, policies, and initiatives drive ambitious change and track progress towards improving socio-economic, environmental, and governance outcomes at the full landscape level. LandScale also helps partners demonstrate the impact of their efforts, to build additional support for their work.

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San Martín



Focus: Aligning existing resources and promoting landscape sustainability performance to attract better market opportunities, incentives, and responsible investments

Location: Lamas province, San Martin Department, Peru

Lead Partner: Rainforest Alliance

CHALLENGES

Peru is the third-largest producer of coffee and cocoa in South America and the ninth-largest producer of coffee in the world. These crops are of great economic and social importance to the country. However, expanding agriculture has increased deforestation and resulted in land-use change in the Amazon regions — negatively impacting water sources, biodiversity, human well-being, crop productivity, and incomes. A more sustainable approach is needed to protect critical forests and support an inclusive rural economy.

USING LANDSCALE

The Rainforest Alliance, in collaboration with Lamas Local Development Committee (COTEDEP) — a multi-stakeholder partnership that includes representatives from the government, indigenous communities, and the commercial sector — is conducting a LandScale assessment to determine priority action areas and monitor the impact of COTEDEP’s collaborative plan to improve land management in the Lamas Province. Local governments and producers will use LandScale to communicate their achievements, differentiate the landscape’s products as a more sustainable option for buyers, and attract investment for activities in the plan that are shown to improve livelihoods and protect forests and biodiversity. 

 

Jalisco



Focus: Catalyzing cross-sectoral action, monitoring sustainability goals, and credibly communicating impact

Location: South Jalisco State, Mexico

Lead Partners: Rainforest Alliance, SEMADET, SADER, JIRA, and JIDELAA

CHALLENGES

Mexico plays a vital role in global agricultural production and is the world’s top producer of avocados. In recent years, the state of Jalisco has dramatically expanded its cultivation of avocados, agave, and other crops. Unfortunately, this has contributed to the loss of more than 41,000 hectares of forest, as well as habitat fragmentation, soil erosion, landslides, and strained water resources. A better balance between nature, local communities, and agricultural production is needed to prevent further forest loss and overexploitation of natural resources.

USING LANDSCALE

Jalisco’s Ministry of Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET) and Jalisco’s Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (SADER) are using LandScale as an organizational framework to identify areas that need collaborative effort and develop a coordinated action plan for stakeholders in the landscape to align their activities with each other. The boards will use LandScale’s independent and holistic framework to assess the impact of all activities in the landscape to see if the action plan has helped reduce deforestation and improved natural resources management. Assessments will provide critical landscape-level insights that can support partners in making informed decisions about the management of natural resources and help them credibly demonstrate the broader impact of their efforts in order to attract additional investment to achieve their landscape goals.

For Spanish information, click here.

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Western Costa Sur



Focus: Aligning existing plans and resources, monitoring progress toward common goals, and communicating impact to attract more financing and support

Location: Southwestern Guatemala, Ocosito River watershed

Lead Partners: Rainforest Alliance and Solidaridad

CHALLENGES

The Pacific coast of Guatemala is one of the most important agricultural zones in the country, home to large-scale banana, oil palm, and sugar cane production. However, a lack of natural resources governance, historical deforestation, and the inefficient use of water by upstream and downstream stakeholders threaten the water supply, mangrove ecosystem, soil quality, and local livelihoods in the landscape. The need for an integrated approach to natural resources management which addresses these challenges is clear. Yet, stakeholders lack agreement on the scale of the intervention needed and the best way to reach a unified plan.

USING LANDSCALE

The Rainforest Alliance and Solidaridad are working with the National Forest Institute (INAB), AgroAmérica, Grupo HAME, local communities, the Local Mangrove Roundtable — an intersectoral platform for dialogue and consensus — and other stakeholders to define a shared vision for the Ocosito watershed. The partners will use the indicators and performance metrics outlined in LandScale’s independent framework to set shared goals that are structured to drive concrete improvements in sustainability at landscape scale. As the partners work toward their goals, they can also use LandScale to measure and communicate their progress in a credible and holistic way to attract more financing and support for their efforts at the landscape level. 

For Spanish information, click here.

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Sintang



Focus: Developing policies and practices to achieve key sustainability outcomes, inform sourcing and investment decisions, and create market incentives for improved sustainability performance at scale

Location: Sintang district, West Kalimantan, Indonesia 

Lead Partners: Sintang District Government, LTKL, Rainforest Alliance

CHALLENGES
The rapid growth of palm oil production in Indonesia has largely come at the expense of forested areas. Continued deforestation adds significant environmental pressures on ecologically sensitive areas, with extensive impacts on biodiversity, habitat fragmentation, land degradation and soil erosion. The GFW Dashboard listed the Sintang District, West Kalimantan province, among the top districts with high rates of deforestation. From 2001 to 2017, the district lost about 440,000 ha of tree cover or 21%, of which 79% was natural forest. Conversion to palm oil has been the leading cause of primary forest loss, with rubber a distant second.

USING LANDSCALE
Governments and companies in the Sintang district will use LandScale’s key sustainability indicators to align their strategies and work together toward a more sustainable landscape. LandScale insights will help stakeholders make more sustainable actions in the future and measure their progress toward landscape sustainability. By verifying the results of assessments, stakeholders will also be able to promote the sustainability performance of the Sintang landscape to encourage better market opportunities, incentives, and responsible investments.

For more information

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