Implementing Forest Landscape Restoration – A Practitioner’s Guide A Practitioner’s Restoration – Landscape Implementing Forest IMPLEMENTING FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION A Practitioner’s Guide Editors: John Stanturf, Stephanie Mansourian, Michael Kleine IMPLEMENTING FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION A Practitioner’s Guide Editors: John Stanturf, Stephanie Mansourian, Michael Kleine Recommended citation: Stanturf, John; Mansourian, Stephanie; Kleine, Michael; eds. 2017. Implementing Forest Landscape Restoration, A Practitioner‘s Guide. International Union of Forest Research Organizations, Special Programme for Development of Capacities (IUFRO-SPDC). Vienna, Austria. 128 p. ISBN - 978-3-902762-78-8 Published by: International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Available from: IUFRO Headquarters Special Programme for Development of Capacities Marxergasse 2 1030 Vienna Austria Tel: +43-1-877-0151-0 E-mail: [email protected] www.iufro.org Layout: Schrägstrich Kommunikationsdesign Cover photographs: (top) Diverse tropical landscape in the Caribbean, Martinique. Photo © Andre Purret; (bottom left) Stakeholder consultations in Offinso District, Ghana © Ernest Foli; (bottom right) Communicating forest landscape restoration to all sectors of society is essential for implementation success, Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Photo © Alexander Buck Printed in Austria by Eigner Druck, Tullner Straße 311, 3040 Neulengbach TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms 4 Preface Using this guide | John Stanturf 6 Introduction and Overview John Stanturf, Michael Kleine 8 Module I. Getting Started | John Stanturf, Michael Kleine, Janice Burns 14 Module II. Governance and Forest Landscape Restoration | Stephanie Mansourian 26 Module III. Designing a Forest Landscape Restoration Project John Stanturf, Michael Kleine, Stephanie Mansourian 37 Module IV. Technical Aspects of Forest Landscape Restoration Project Implementation John Stanturf, Promode Kant, Palle Madsen 50 Module V. Monitoring Forest Landscape Restoration Projects | John Stanturf, Palle Madsen 64 Module VI. Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Forest Landscape Restoration John Stanturf, Promode Kant, Stephanie Mansourian, Palle Madsen 75 Module VII. Communicating Forest Landscape Restoration Results John Stanturf, Michael Kleine, Janice Burns 94 Outlook John Stanturf, Michael Kleine 110 References 116 Annex 1 Biological Invasion in the Context of Forest Landscape Restoration Eckehard G. Brockerhoff 120 Annex 2 Selected Guidance 125 LIST OF ACRONYMS AFR100 African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative AFRP Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact AIIM Alignment, Interest and Influence Matrix CBD United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity CDM Clean Development Mechanism CIFOR Centre for International Forestry Research CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CPF Collaborative Partnership on Forests FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations FLAT Forest Landscape Assessment Tool FLR Forest Landscape Restoration FMU Forest Management Unit FPIC Free Prior and Informed Consent FRA Forest Resources Assessment FSC Forest Stewardship Council GHG Greenhouse Gases GIS Geographic Information System GMO Genetically Modified Organism GPS Global Positioning System IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature IUFRO International Union of Forest Research Organizations LADA Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands NDC Nationally Determined Contribution NFP National Forest Programme NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NTFP Non-Timber Forest Product PIPA Participatory Impact Pathways Analysis REDD+ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stock ROAM Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology RRI Rights and Resources Institute 4 SDG Sustainable Development Goal SER Society for Ecological Restoration SFM Sustainable Forest Management SNA Social Network Analysis UN United Nations UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFF United Nations Forum on Forests VCS Verified Carbon Standard WRI World Resources Institute WWF World Wide Fund for Nature 5 PREFACE Large-scale restoration initiatives are underway to counter global loss and degradation of the world’s forests. These include the Bonn Challenge (150 million ha by 2020), the New York Declaration on Forests (350 million ha by 2030), and land net degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030 set by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertifi- cation (UNCCD). The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has a goal of no net biodiversity loss, and net positive impacts on biodiversity, with a target (Aichi Target 15) of 15% of degraded lands restored by 2020. To implement the Bonn Challenge and other international commitments that require forest restoration and conservation, the German Environment Ministry (BMU) approved a four-year project led by the World Resourc- es Institute called “Inspire, Support and Mobilize Forest Landscape Restoration.” As one of the partners in this effort, IUFRO is providing scientific information, knowledge and expertise on ecological, social and economic aspects of forest landscape restoration (FLR), in particular the potential contribution of FLR to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Recognising the challenge of implementing these high-level targets and initiatives, and realising that obtaining results on the ground will confront many context-specific questions, a team of scientists from relevant IUFRO units has prepared this practition- er’s guide to Implementing Forest Landscape Restoration. The guide follows from, and builds upon the IUFRO World Series “Forest Landscape Restoration as a Key Compo- nent of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation” (Stanturf et al. 2015). This guide addresses FLR implementation as a whole but with a view toward climate change mit- igation and adaptation; only if the landscape is changing and FLR is successful will climate benefits materialise. Even though guidelines for broad national planning and ecological assessments are available, implementing FLR in practice goes beyond generalized concepts. Implement- ing FLR generally requires a group of stakeholders rather than being the responsibility of a single stakeholder. Often one or more facilitators are needed to organise a mul- ti-stakeholder team and these facilitators are the main target audience for this FLR im- plementation guide. We intend this guide to be a training resource for FLR facilitators who have a broad approach to land management. The guide is also aimed at anyone who implements FLR in a specific country or local context. Thus, policymakers and practi- tioners considering FLR commitments can use this guide to gain an understanding of the complexities of actual implementation. The guide is comprised of separate modules that address important aspects of FLR implementation. Each module is based on the IUFRO World Series report, which goes into greater depth and has many more references. Underlying our approach to FLR im- plementation is the concept of project cycle management that takes users on a systematic 6 path from the initial project idea to measurable results in the landscape. Each mod- ule gives details on important aspects of the journey from broad FLR policy to local implementation activities, including getting started with FLR implementation, govern- ance, FLR project design, implementation activities, monitoring and evaluation, climate change mitigation and adaptation methods, and communication. Users are encouraged to read all modules, but each module can be read independently. Some key concepts are duplicated among modules or cross-referenced to facilitate reading. We are grateful to the authors and co-authors for sharing their expertise and long- term experience in the restoration of forests and forested landscapes, and for making it available through this guide. Stephanie Mansourian did double duty as co-author and editor of the guide; Michael Kleine also performed doubly as co-author and task master. The assistance by Margareta Khorchidi in proofreading and Janice Burns contributing as co-author and helping shape the final version of the guidebook as well as by Eva-Ma- ria Schimpf in proofreading and coordinating lay-out and printing is much appreciated. Funding support for this publication was provided by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety as part of its International Climate Initiative, through the World Resources Institute. The views ex- pressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official policy of the governments represented by these agencies or those to which the authors are affiliated. John Stanturf Coordinator IUFRO Research Group 1.06.00 “Restoration of degraded sites” Michael Kleine Deputy Executive Director International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) 7 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Why a guide for FLR implementation? Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is being widely promoted as a solution to the global loss and degradation of the world’s forests and as a contribution to sustainable develop- ment through restoring the ecological, social and economic values and functionalities of degraded landscapes. Much interest and political momentum has been generated around restoration and FLR in particular (Box I.1). Ambitious