Pilot projects in development in various ISLA landscapes

The ISLA team is in the process of developing pilot projects and sending calls for proposals or developing projects with key stakeholders in the other landscapes.

While the ISLA program in Kenya is already in the midst of implementing pilot projects such as tree planting with public and private sector partners, the ISLA team is in the process of developing pilot projects and sending calls for proposals or developing projects with key stakeholders in the other landscapes.

In Vietnam, ISLA sent out a call for proposals in early December for improved natural resource management and climate change resilient agriculture in provinces of Lam Dong and Dak Lak. A planning workshop will follow after the review of the concept notes in January to ensure projects and targets are aligned.

The ISLA call for proposals in Cote d’Ivoire has concept notes that are now being reviewed for funding. The goal of the resulting projects will be to: stop deforestation , reinforce sustainable land use management and planning as well as sustainable livelihoods for smallholders. A workshop will be organized early 2016 to seek alignment between the selected proposals and targets.

The ISLA coalition in Ethiopia is also in the process of developing projects. A number of feasibility studies have been assigned to further explore opportunities for collaborations on water irrigation saving techniques and good agricultural practices with farmer cooperatives and other stakeholders based in the landscape. Other projects under development will work towards landscape restoration including gully restoration, replanting and area closure to prevent further degradation of the landscape and water quality in lake Ziway.

In Brazil and Indonesia, together with various NGOs and private sector, ISLA is developing pilots to be implemented in 2016. In Brazil, the pilots aim to prove the concept of optimizing land use by cattle intensification, pasture and forest restoration – and steering crop expansion towards (restored) pastureland in order to avoid expansion in forested areas. In Indonesia projects aim at proving different concepts, including multiple-use concessions, wildlife corridors across neighboring concessions and national parks, and production-protection agreements with smallholders in ecologically sensitive areas.