Agroforestry is increasingly recognized as a critical strategy for increasing climate change resilience and improving local community livelihoods. Agroforestry, which has the potential to maximize environmental, economic and social benefits, has also been widely used as a successful approach to sustainable land use management. Agroforestry practitioners must understand the fundamental principles of agroforestry and how to collaborate with local farmers and other relevant stakeholders in designing agroforestry systems to reap the benefits.

Who this course is for:

• Field and project managers in agroforestry and sustainable landscape management.
• Extension workers and community liaisons collaborate with farmers and local communities in agroforestry and sustainable landscape management.
• Individuals responsible for planning in agroforestry and sustainable landscape.
• Researchers and communication staff working on projects related to agroforestry and sustainable landscape management.

The World Bank’s two-part course, entitled “Integrated Land-Use Initiatives: Theory and Practice,” will teach you how to balance economic, environmental and social considerations within a landscape. It is designed to help sustainability practitioners learn how to deal with the complex problems posed by the conflicting demands of different sets of groups and set priorities and boundaries.  

Part 1 of the course covers: multistakeholder engagement; environmental sustainability; economic benefits; and boundary setting within the context of integrated land-use initiatives. Part 2 covers: land tenure; financing strategies; monitoring, evaluation, and learning; and cross-sectoral coordination. Part 1 is a prerequisite for part 2.

The exciting new course will build the competencies needed to transform the way practitioners manage dryland forests, with a focus on increasing sustainability whilst retaining the benefits of other interventions. It targets programme and project managers, field practitioners, policy makers and anyone interested in sustainable development of drylands. After the launch, it will be available free on the FAO Learning Academy platform.

The free e-course introduces community forestry as a pathway to solving the world’s greatest social and environmental challenges.

Countries around the world and in the Asia-Pacific region increasingly recognize the contribution community forestry makes to inspire climate change solutions and sustainable economic and social development. But what is community forestry? What forms does it take? Why do we need to involve local communities in forest management? What makes community forestry successful? What are the constraints to realizing the potential of community forestry?

Community forestry 101 will answer these questions and more. It focuses on the Asia-Pacific, but the concepts can be applied throughout the world. The journey through the course includes experiential and reflective activities based on real-life conditions. You will also have opportunities to share your ideas and collaborate with others.

The Landscape-based Approach is increasingly recognized as an effective mean to address challenges in food security, ecosystem conservation, and climate change. This e-course explains key features of landscape approach, governance and showcases. It presents useful tools in design and implementation of landscape interventions. It requires 4-5 hours of online learning.