04-08-2025
Workshop highlights Integrated Landscape Management to achieve sustainable development goals
Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) is one of the most practical ways to localise the UN Sustainable Development Goals said Madhuri Nanda, Director - South Asia, Rainforest Alliance, at the inaugural of a four-day Global Environment Facility (GEF) ILM workshop here on Monday (August 4).
The workshop is being held under the SABAL Project (Sustainable Agricultural Biodiversity Across Landscapes), supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and led by the Rainforest Alliance, in close partnership with Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), and the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Ms. Madhuri said that by bringing together communities, institutions and ecosystems into a shared planning space, ILM helps move beyond siloed solutions, towards landscapes that were productive, equitable and resilient in the face of climate and ecological challenges.
She said that ILM was a multi stakeholder approach that encourages joint planning and action across sectors such as agriculture, forestry, water and rural development. It brings together diverse players from farming communities, forest departments, women's collectives, civil society groups and state agencies to agree on a shared vision for how land and resources were used and restored.
Delegates from Ghana and Indonesia are also attending the three-day event, which highlights efforts to restore degraded lands, protect biodiversity and improve rural livelihoods through a landscape-level approach.
The workshop is particularly relevant for regions such as the Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district, where land degradation, forest loss and climate change were deeply affecting tribal communities and small landholder farmers.
Through SABAL, several local initiatives from natural farming and nursery development to women-led processing units and eco-restoration models were already demonstrating the potential of ILM on the ground.
P. Mallikarjuna Rao, Advisor to Government of Andhra Pradesh on Environment and Forests, said that the stakeholders must ensure that while planning interventions, a balanced and inclusive approach was maintained.
The participants of the workshop will visit project sites in ASR district to see how ILM is taking shape in Andhra Pradesh. The agenda includes experience sharing from India's project landscapes, technical sessions on sustainable land practices, and insights from visiting delegates from Ghana and Indonesia.
