Thanks to all those working to achieve sustainable development, food security and climate resilience in Africa who joined us for this powerful multi-day learning and sharing event.
The African Landscapes Dialogue was a major success, with an overflow crowd of more than 140 leaders working across Africa and around the world putting their heads together for three days of intense collaboration to improve the practice of integrated landscape management.
Read the Outcome Summary of the Dialogue. Stay tuned for an update of the African Landscapes Action Plan based on the Dialogue outcomes, coming in May.
Take a look back at the event as it was shared on social media.
Posters and Presentations
View all the excellent material shared by our participants on the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative Slideshare.
Stories
See all African Landscapes Dialogue stories on the Blog for People, Food and Nature.
About
Leaders from community and farmer organizations, local governments, food and agri-businesses, NGOs and other stakeholders across Africa are working together through integrated landscape management to achieve multiple goals from their land and resources. They take different entry points and use different names, including forest landscape restoration, model forests, sustainable land and water management, and agriculture green growth corridors, to name just a few.
The African Landscapes Dialogue gathered these diverse communities of practice in sustainable landscapes at the beautiful campus of HOAREC&N in Ethiopia to learn together through:
- Sharing best practices from their own landscapes
- Sharing lessons learned from research and experiences across landscapes and countries
- Exchanging tools and resources
- Developing collaborative actions
- Facilitated cross-sectoral conversation
- Study tours of landscapes in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia
The conference was hosted by the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center & Network (HOAREC&N) at their meetingplace in the Gullele Botanic Garden in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Organizing partners include HOAREC&N, the African Model Forest Network, EcoAgriculture Partners, NEPAD/TerrAfrica, Solidaridad Network, the Water and Land Resources Center (WLRC) and the World Resources Institute.
Supporting partners include EcoAgriculture Partners, the Global Environment Facility, IUCN, the Netherlands Ministry for Economic Affairs, SwedBio, Solidaridad Network, and the World Resources Institute.
March 6
12:30
Check-in Opens
Welcome
Opening remarks and welcome plenary
Setting the stage: An overview of Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) in Africa
Afternoon
Group Discussions - Success Stories from Across Africa
Facilitated discussions featuring dynamic storytelling and detailed examination of selected cases.
Evening
Reception
Landscape Management Share Fair
Apply to share your initiative, program, tool, or research (anything you think could be of interest to African landscape leaders) on a poster. Posters will be hung up throughout the conference, and evening sessions will provide time for participants to interact with poster presenters.
March 7
Morning
Plenary - The African Landscapes Action Plan
Highlights of achievements from 2014-2016, part 1:
- Landscape Partnerships and Governance
- Business for Sustainable Landscapes Initiative
- Financing investments for sustainable landscapes: insights, models and tools
Group Discussions - Moving the Landscape Agenda Forward
Discussion groups: Landscape partnerships and governance; Business engagement; Financing solutions
Afternoon
Stocktaking on Regional Initiatives - Where are we, and where do we have to go
Multiple groups will gather to each review one of the many regional initiatives for sustainable landscapes in Africa (e.g. AFR100, The Great Green Wall Initiative, etc.), visiting its successes and challenges, providing feedback and insight to move it forward, and exploring opportunities to get involved/connect.
Want to lead a session highlighting the successes and challenges of your regional initiative? Complete this short expression of interest.
Skills Session - A variety of skill-building workshops to improve landscape management on the ground
Apply to host a structured skill-building or training session. Submit an application.
Landscape Management Share Fair
Apply to share your initiative, program, tool, or research (anything you think could be of interest to African landscape leaders) on a poster. Posters will be hung up throughout the conference, and evening sessions will provide time for participants to interact with poster presenters.
March 8
Morning
Plenary - The African Landscapes Action Plan
Highlights of achievements from 2014-2016, part 2:
- Landscape Academy
- National Landscape Learning Exchanges
- Policy support for ILM
- Research/Building the Evidence
Discussion Groups - Implementation Issues
Facilitated intensive discussion on challenges for implementing integrated landscape management.
Afternoon
Skills Session - A variety of skill-building workshops to improve landscape management on the ground
Apply to host a structured skill-building or training session. Submit an application.
Discussion Groups - National Knowledge Exchanges
Facilitated discussion with participants from the same country or region about particular national or regional challenges.
Policymaker Panel
A panel discussion among national and local policymakers on the barriers to and opportunities for creating enabling policies for integrated landscape management, on the question “How does cross-sectoral integration work in practice?”
March 9
Morning
Tools Bazaar
This will be a showcase for innovative hands-on tools or methodologies used in integrated landscape management. Learn directly from each other about the tools you have developed or used. If you want to share a tool in the bazaar, click here to describe your tool so we can add it to the list!
Tool presentations will be maximum 30 minutes each. All participants will have the opportunity to select which tool presentation to attend, so please write a compelling description of your tool including its audience and purpose.
Plenary - What we learned and where we go from here
Digesting the outcomes from group discussions, the “wall of ideas,” and more.
Lunch
Farewell and closing over a shared meal
The best way to solidify commitments to action with new friends and colleagues.
March 10-11
Field Visit
Central Rift Valley - Sign up required, participation is limited
Participants to the conference are eligible to join us (on a first-come, first-serve registration basis, with 30 total spaces) on a learning journey to the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia on March 10th and 11th.
Plan: Buses will depart from the Sarem Hotel at 8am on Friday March 10th, and head to the shores of Lake Ziway. The learning journey will include stops at the following locales in the Central Rift Valley:
- Sher flower farm and its artificial wetland system
- Shore of Lake Abyata
- Castel winery
- Soil and More composting site
- SEDA closure area at Kamo Gerbi Kebele
Very basic accommodations will be provided overnight on March 10th. Lunch and dinner on March 10th, and breakfast and lunch on March 11th will be provided. The bus will return to Addis by 4pm on March 11th.
Registered conference attendees are eligible to sign up by clicking here.
Host
Co-Organizers
Partners
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