Learning report on first landscape projects on soy - English

Future programs need to bridge the gap between public sector decisions at federal or state levels and their implementation at local level. The same goes for the differences between sustainability policies at company headquarters and their ‘translation’ at local level. Essential for enhancing sustainable land use is setting straightforward goals and increasing synergies between public, private and or civil society programs. Recognition by internal markets and clear business incentives for local producers are essential to make landscape management economic viable.

These are a few of the learnings that IDH and Solidaridad analyzed from 7 seven projects in Paraguay and the states of Mato Grosso and Bahia in Brazil. The two organizations jointly  tested an approach in which producers, the local governments and civil society in a region jointly designed and invested in sustainable land use to end illegal deforestation. From the seven projects – IDH and Solidaridad’s first landscape projects in South America –  next steps were determined.