Multifunctional landscapes

Land is under increasing pressure from competing demands form agriculture, forestry, conservation, mining and energy sectors to name a few. Meanwhile, growing populations and persistent food insecurity increases the need for more efficient and more sustainable agriculture. Agriculture is a major driver of biodiversity loss and a significant contributor to land degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Moving towards multifunctional agricultural and food systems could help address these challenges.

Multifunctional landscapes are those that support and enhance  the benefits of different land uses on the same area; for instance, combining agriculture, forestry, conservation, recreation, urban development, or green spaces. Bringing these otherwise competing land uses together holds the potential to reduce land use competition, prevent further deforestation and biodiversity loss and support sustainable agricultural production. For example, adjacent forests and tree coverage on or near farmed land can help with microclimate regulation by providing shade and enhance pollination services that can improve productivity by boosting crop yields and quality.

However, the current economic structure favours single crop systems that are often resource-intensive, pushing ecosystems to the brink and locking us into a cycle of monocultures. For multifunctional systems to work, supply and value chains need to adapt to improve access and profitability of such production systems.

Turning multifunctionality into practice

Although the benefits of multifunctionality are well established, key gaps remain in understanding how multiple land-use functions interact, the synergies and trade-offs, and the tangible co-benefits of multifunctionality. We also need to better understand under which biophysical, socio-economic, and institutional conditions multifunctional systems can thrive. Connecting farm-level practices with broader value chain services is crucial for influencing the success and scaling of multifunctional agriculture. We will address this challenge through case studies in Kenya and Colombia, by exploring three interconnected areas:

Reinforcing multifunctionality through multi-resource bioeconomy systems

Multifunctional production systems produce a wide range of resources like food, feed, fibre, energy, medicinal and other bio-resources. They also contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation goals, and biodiversity benefits. The inherent diversity of multifunctional landscapes creates opportunities for local value creation in the bioeconomy. For example, small-scale processors or mobile biorefineries can transform these resources into value-added products. Such bioeconomy systems can diversify farmers’ incomes, help reverse ongoing transitions to monoculture production, and support the expansion of multifunctional systems. SEI’s work explores how bioeconomy systems can link diverse resources to value-chain innovation to increase resource efficiency and contribute to decentralized value creation.

Role of multi-commodity supply chain systems in supporting multifunctionality

Most global supply chains have been designed around one major commodity sourced from a particular region to deliver cheap goods and predictable sourcing. Multi-commodity supply chains, by contrast, can create a market for the diverse products generated by multifunctional landscapes, including tree crops, annual crops and non-timber forest products. A supply chain built on multiple commodities spreads ecological, and economic risks across seasons, species, and production systems. These systems can diversify farmers’ incomes, reduce pressure to convert natural ecosystems to monocultures, and reduce the effects of shocks. This focus area explores how to support existing supply chains, to allow the landscape to remain multifunctional.

Landscape governance: from concept to practice

Making multifunctionality work in practice requires governance frameworks capable of coordinating farmers, local governments, traditional authorities, private companies, conservation groups, and market actors. Integrated landscape approaches and other governance frameworks grounded in such continuous learning processes tend to be more inclusive and effective by building trust among stakeholders. However, landscape governance does not automatically produce synergies, as effective governance depends on strong local ownership, effective implementation depends on trust, maintaining political support and leveraging funding. In this context, multiple trade-offs must be managed carefully. This means, for example, biodiversity goals with agricultural expansion, or addressing the distributional consequences of climate-adaptation projects that may divert scarce land or water resources away from already marginalized groups. Our work examines governance structures in place for multifunctionality to deliver.

From research to decision-making

This initiative addresses the challenge of monoculture expansion and land-use competition through a systems perspective that bridges farm-scale production and downstream value chain aspects, bioeconomy and supply chains within a favorable governance that can help unlock and scale multifunctional landscapes. By analyzing land-use interactions and the co-benefits we aim to design ecological and economic pathways that incentivize farmers to maintain and expand multifunctional systems. Central to this effort is a transdisciplinary approach that integrates natural science with socio-economic perspectives, providing knowledge for effective decision-making.