Integrated Landscape Governance and Resource Management

Integrated landscape governance and resource management is an interdisciplinary framework that seeks to harmonise multiple land-use demands—such as agriculture, forestry, conservation, infrastructure and community livelihoods—within a defined geographical area. By transcending sectoral boundaries, this approach promotes co-ordinated decision-making among diverse stakeholders, from local communities to national authorities and private sector actors. Central to its philosophy is the recognition that ecological processes, socio-economic goals and governance systems are interdependent; success depends on aligning policy instruments, institutional arrangements and on-the-ground practices to balance trade-offs and realise synergies. Key features include polycentric governance structures that facilitate nested decision-making across scales, adaptive management underpinned by iterative monitoring and learning, and inclusive platforms that empower marginalised groups. The approach has gained traction in addressing global challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change mitigation and rural poverty by fostering multifunctional landscapes that deliver ecosystem services alongside sustainable development outcomes.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have harnessed high-resolution remote sensing and field surveys to quantify how integrated planning enhances carbon storage and habitat connectivity across agro-forest mosaics. One investigation demonstrated that landscapes managed under a multi-stakeholder governance model exhibited up to 30% higher carbon sequestration and improved species richness compared with adjacent sectoral initiatives. Another research effort employed dynamic systems modelling to explore governance feedbacks, revealing that adaptive policy mechanisms—triggered by real-time ecological indicators—significantly improved resilience to extreme climatic events. A third contribution developed a decision-support tool that blends socio-economic data with spatial land-use simulations, enabling policy makers to visualise long-term outcomes of varied governance scenarios and to prioritise investments that maximise both conservation and livelihood objectives.

Integrated Landscape Governance and Resource Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in integrated landscape governance and resource management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Integrated landscape governance: A framework for co-ordinating policies, institutions and stakeholders to manage multifunctional landscapes in a holistic manner.

Landscape approach: A strategic process that balances competing land uses within a defined area by aligning ecological, social and economic objectives.

Polycentric governance: A system of nested, overlapping decision-making centres that operate at multiple spatial and administrative scales.

Multi-stakeholder platform: An institutional mechanism that brings together diverse actors for joint planning, negotiation and adaptive management.

Adaptive management: An iterative process of testing, monitoring and adjusting policies or practices in response to observed outcomes and new information.

References

1. Towards more inclusive community landscape governance: Drivers and assessment indicators in northern Ghana. Forest Policy and Economics (2024).
2. Integrated landscape approaches to managing social and environmental issues in the tropics: learning from the past to guide the future. Global Change Biology (2016).
3. Integrated landscape approaches in the tropics: A brief stock-take. Land Use Policy (2020).