Abstract
Holistic and multi-transdisciplinary approaches, where multiple goals are achieved in order to improve resilience in societies and ecosystems in the short, medium, and long term, are ideal, even utopian. Hence, science has come together with practical experiences that highlight the importance of working at a ‘landscape’ level. Landscapes, as socio-ecological systems, are key for sustainability and sustainable development, and they represent a realistic unit to interconnect local, national, and ultimately global scales. International efforts regarding holistic natural resources management approaches are not new; however, they are currently pointing to an Integrated Landscape Approach (ILA). Based on a documentation review and analysis, the present article review aims to promote the disambiguation of the ILA concept and provide an updated synthesis knowledge on the ILA. Especially for the forest sector, the ILA has been identified as particularly beneficial, strongly highlighted by the scientific literature, and with an infrastructure of organizations that are encouraging it. The paper presents the rationale of the science behind the concept, as well as the main principles, we identified a variety of definitions with some significant points of overlap, we highlight the inclusion of ILAs in the current international arena and the relationship of ILA’s and Jurisdictional Approaches, and we make a review of the ILA in a challenging world of rapid change. Our review recognizes ILAs socio-ecological management strategy to reconcile conservation, development, climate change, and human well-being goals. ILAs naturally have a social and idealistic construction behind it, which might be just as necessary andsignificant as the journey toward sustainability itself.
Highlights
Given the unprecedented level of environmental degradation, it is urgent to align environmental, climatic, social, health, and economic agendas to sustainability principles
There is a wealth of literature and widespread international interest about Integrated Landscape Approach (ILA); “what the landscape approach means in complex social-ecological systems is subject to a wide range of differing interpretations” [10] (p. 2)
ILAs can be defined as a sustainable development approach that considers landscape scale interactions, functions, and processes
Summary
Given the unprecedented level of environmental degradation, it is urgent to align environmental, climatic, social, health, and economic agendas to sustainability principles. Land-use change has delivered socio-economic benefits, but at the cost of overexploitation of natural resources, resulting in resources and ecosystems degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change [4,5]. Sectoral approaches to land management are proving to be inadequate for balancing socio-economic complexities and environmental demands. There is a wealth of literature and widespread international interest about ILAs; “what the landscape approach means in complex social-ecological systems is subject to a wide range of differing interpretations” [10] On current international environmental agendas, there are several initiatives to motivate and encourage the implementation of ILAs. ILAs are supported by the research community, donors, and governments; the marketability of the concept itself is acknowledged [1,12]. The proliferation of similar concepts, the lack of a universal definition and vagueness, the lack of consensus in conceptual schemes, and the broad challenges of sustainability itself perhaps could lead to confusion and skepticism and slow ILA implementation or leave them too open to interpretation
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