STABILIZING LAND USE PROJECT (PLUS)

Project Goal

Demonstrate conservation and development benefits in 4 targeted countries in Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and DRC through better use of Protected Area categories V and VI (or other appropriate area based conservation mechanisms), supported by alignment of national and sub-national policies, and landscape level actions.

Category V: Emphasizes values from long-term interactions of people and nature in modified conditions; more intensive uses (typically agriculture, forestry, tourism).

Category VI: Emphasizes on protection and sustainable use of natural ecosystems, where conservation and sustainable use can be mutually beneficial (typically hunting, grazing, management of natural resources); comparatively more “natural” than V.

Landscape level

1. Existing governance structures at landscape level strengthened and up-scaled;
2. Management mandates, responsibilities and capacities of local governance structures strengthened including enhanced participation of women and marginalized groups;
3. Improve adoption of climate smart agricultural practices at the 2 landscapes;
4. Livelihood enhancing options supported/ implemented/ tested;
5. Improved relationships and collaboration between communities and protected areas management towards enhanced management of the Protected Areas.

National Level

1. Institutional collaboration, networks and linkages enhanced between local and national governance frameworks and processes;
2. Contribute to national processes that support sustainable land use management and reduction of Deforestation & forest Degradation.

Key Project Activities and target groups

• Situational analysis/assessment and Baseline studies on ecological, economic, social and stakeholder/demographic characteristics of the target landscapes that may impede action (including drivers of Deforestation & forest Degradation);
• Governance Working Groups (GWGs) review and validate Baseline studies/situational analysis;
• Stakeholder consultations towards development of landscape strategies- modeled along Hotspot Intervention Area (HIA) concept of the Ghana REDD+ programme;
• GWG review and validate Landscape strategies;
• Technical and Financial support for sustainable livelihood development at the two landscapes;
• Organize one Land Use Dialogue (LUD) per landscape;
• Consolidation of Project outcomes into performance story and policy influence report.

Expected Outcome

Output 1: Improved national and sub-national understanding, consensus and ownership of enhanced landscape governance frameworks.

Output 3: Enhanced landscape-level governance frame- works identified with defined structures, mandates and rights holder/stakeholder roles and responsibilities.

Output 3: Enhanced landscape-level governance frameworks and actions identified and where possible, tested and reviewed.

Output 4: Relevant landscape, sub-national and national-level decision-making and policy.

Policy Influence Reports

1.  Harmonising Conservation and Development Priorities in Ghana

         The Landscape Approach in Practice

Download full policy HERE

Check out the BRIEF HERE

2.  A Seat for Everyone at the Table for Sustainable Natural Resource Management in Ghana

Download full document HERE

The long-term impacts of the project are two-fold:

(1) To enable sustainable land use strategies and climate change adaptation: By focusing on the development of local sustainable land-use strategies, as part of NBSAPs, and promoting landscape restoration and reducing deforestation activities, the project will deliver conservation and use economic models that directly contribute to the achievement of Aichi Targets 7 and 11. This project also contributes to the integration of biodiversity into sectoral policies and political planning processes (cf. Aichi Target 2), and creating positive economic incentives for the conservation of biodiversity (Aichi Target 3).

(2) Climate change mitigation: The four proposed countries have advanced REDD+ and other Climate Change Mitigation Programmes (ERPs or ERPINs). The project will help advance early actions that reconcile and optimize land-use decision-making to stabilize reduced deforestation, enhance carbon stocks through the restoration of ecosystem functionality and promote enhanced and sustainable management of current low-carbon land-use strategies. The precise amount of carbon sequestered by this project will vary by location.