Decade of convening landscape initiatives
Over the past 10 years, IDH has been at the forefront of developing collaborative landscape initiatives to manage land sustainably. These initiatives not only accelerate sustainable land management and improve farmer livelihoods but also share risks, reduce costs, and create lasting, measurable impact.
From the Amazon to Southeast Asia and Africa, IDH’s experience shows that working at the landscape level is one of the most effective ways to drive systemic change.
Learn more about the top 10 lessons from ten years of IDH’s landscape work in this article by Matthew Spencer, IDH Climate & Nature Director.
Spotlight on four landscape initiatives
Aceh Tamiang, Indonesia: Convening a sustainable palm oil landscape
In Aceh Tamiang, IDH partnered with Unilever, PepsiCo, Musim Mas, local government, and civil society to protect forests and promote sustainable economic growth in Eastern Leuser.
Impact: ~50,000 hectares of forest protected, 1,000 hectares restored, 37% reduction in deforestation rate.
Result: The district-level success provided evidence to expand the initiative to a provincial level.
Focus: Collaboration between the private sector, government, and communities to protect forests while supporting livelihoods.
Download the case study about how companies, local government, and civil society organisations can work together to protect forests in palm oil producing regions.
Mars has been working closely with IDH in Indonesia for more than 13 years, and we acknowledge IDH’s vital role in convening multistakeholder platforms within complex landscapes. We deeply value our collaborative work with them in Indonesia, specifically in the Aceh and Papua provinces, recognising their unique ability to bring together diverse actors for sustainable and impactful change.
Mato Grosso, Brazil: Promoting sustainable cattle ranching in the Amazon
Working with the cattle sector and beyond, the Brazil landscape approach delivers solutions for climate, biodiversity, and social inclusion. Showcasing how long-term collaboration can drive systemic change.
See it in action: Videos from partners, farmers, and our team showcase the transformation of Brazil’s production systems.
Impact: Conservation of over 290,000 hectares of forest and sustainable practices on more than 230,000 hectares.
Focus: Enabling cattle ranching and forest protection to coexist through sustainable practices.
Read more about how cattle ranching and forest protection can be simultaneously supported.
Central Highlands, Vietnam: Supporting EUDR compliance in Vietnam
Since 2015, IDH has applied a landscape approach in Vietnam’s Central Highlands to protect forests, manage water, and reduce the use of agrochemicals. In response to the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), IDH established a public-private consortium to enhance traceability, forest monitoring, and the development of deforestation-free supply chains.
Impact: Established the world’s first national action plan for deforestation-free sourcing areas in coffee.
Focus: Helping the Vietnamese coffee sector meet EUDR standards while reducing costs and sharing expertise.
Read more about how landscape collaboration reduces the cost of compliance with EUDR regulation in coffee production.
Through our collaboration with IDH under the Landscape Approach Initiative for Sustainable Coffee Production, we have connected with many partners who share the same vision and mission — from local authorities and businesses to farmers — and have achieved results that a single company could hardly accomplish alone.
This cooperation helps reduce risks, optimise costs, and promote sustainable solutions that bring long-term benefits, ensuring the well-being of the environment, nature, and local communities.
South West Mau Forest, Kenya: Protecting the forest to support communities, ecosystem and tea cultivation
The South West Mau Forest landscape initiative brought together tea companies, government agencies, and local communities to co-invest in reforestation and alternative livelihoods.
Impact: 49% increase in forest regeneration, 48% decrease in deforestation, 59% reduction in carbon emissions, 1.5 million trees planted over 1,500 hectares with 90% survival rate.
Focus: Collaborative solutions that benefit people, nature, and business simultaneously.
Read more about how a landscape approach creates a win-win-win solution for tea companies, communities, and forests
The success of the Initiative for Sustainable Landscape (ISLA) broader project confirms an important principle: collaboration and partnership among development partners, communities, government and the private sector can accelerate and sustains impact.
Managing a vast landscape like the Southwest Mau forest requires a collective approach. By sharing risks, resources, and expertise, we have achieved impact exceeding project boundaries through improved land and water resource management and strengthened community governance structures.
Podcast: Business Fights Poverty Climate Series
For an in-depth conversation on landscape collaboration, listen to Matthew Spencer on the Business Fights Poverty Climate Series podcast, where he shares insights from IDH’s global experience.
Collaborative climate solutions for agri-food regions
As climate-led risks to agriculture intensify, IDH is collaborating with industry leaders to build a collaborative landscape-based model for decarbonisation and resilience, aligning companies across agri-food sourcing regions to transform supply chains and deliver impact at scale.
Read more details on this approach to secure agriculture for the future.
About the Landscape approach
Croplands and grazing lands cover a third of the earth’s land surface. Through a landscape approach, producers, companies, governments, and civil society organisations work together across sectors and borders to improve sustainability over an entire region.
The IDH-powered SourceUp platform enables companies and stakeholders in producing regions to work together on sustainable agri-commodity sourcing – linking landscape coalitions with markets to scale them up, increase transparency, and facilitate more sustainable sourcing decisions.