Integrating landscape ecology into landscape practice in Central African Rainforests

Abstract

Context We describe how large landscape-scale conservation initiatives involving local communities, NGOs and resource managers have engaged with landscape scientists with the goal of achieving landscape sustainability. We focus on two landscapes where local people, practitioners and landscape ecologists have co-produced knowledge to design conservation interventions. Objective We seek to understand how landscape ecology can engage with practical landscape management to contribute to managing landscapes sustainably. Methods We focus on two large tropical landscapes: the Sangha Tri-National landscape (Cameroon, Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic) and the Batéké-Léfini Landscape (Gabon and Republic of Congo). We evaluate (1) a participatory method used in the Sangha Tri-National landscape that embeds interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners within a landscape to apply transdisciplinary learning to landscape conservation and (2) a participatory landscape zoning method where interdisciplinary teams of conservation practitioners analyse local land and resource use in the Batéké-Léfini landscape. Results We find that landscape ecology’s tradition of understanding the historical context of resource use can inform landscape conservation practice and natural resource mapping. We also find that the Sangha Group provides an example for landscape ecology on how to integrate local people and their knowledge to better understand and influence landscape processes. Conclusions Place-based engagement as well as the uptake of co-produced knowledge by policy makers are key in enabling sustainable landscapes. Success occurs when researchers, local communities and resource managers engage directly with landscape processes.

Climate-Smart Conservation Agriculture, Farm Values and Tenure Security: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Congo Basin

“…They occupy East of Cameroon and the Great Lakes region. They show different altitudes but are all above 1,000 m and are found in highly different bioclimatic contexts (Walters et al, 2021). These highlands are characterized by high population densities and continuous pressure on land (Walters et al, 2021; Kleinschroth et al, 2019).…”

“…They show different altitudes but are all above 1,000 m and are found in highly different bioclimatic contexts (Walters et al, 2021). These highlands are characterized by high population densities and continuous pressure on land (Walters et al, 2021;Kleinschroth et al, 2019). Major humid zones are found on the coasts, from Cameroon to the banks of the River Congo (Nest et al, 2022;Tshimanga et al, 2022).…”

“…km locally), some areas such as east Cameroon, the north of Congo and the Central African Republic have less than 5 inhabitants/sq. km (Tshimanga et al, 2022;Walters et al, 2021;Molua, 2019).…”

Landscape ecology reaching out

“…Insights on the contribution of the landscape approach emerge from a series of landscape practitioner workshops, providing a clear way that landscape ecologists can engage with and inform practice, policy, and landscape sustainability. We then move to Central Africa, where the contribution by Walters et al ( 2021 ) focuses on landscape ecology and the contribution to landscape sustainability. Two cases demonstrate landscape-scale approaches that engage conservation practitioners and conservation scientists within large-scale conservation landscapes in the Congo Basin.…”

Social and environmental transformation of refugee and hosting community landscapes in Central and Eastern Africa

“…With refugees and IDPs often staying for long periods, many over 20 years (FAO and UNHCR, 2018), it is critical that environmental issues receive attention alongside livelihoods in humanitarian approaches. Landscape approaches can accommodate the complex interrelationships between cultural, social, governance, ecological, and economic factors (Figure 1; Walters et al, 2021).…”