Achieving the Rio Conventions and SDGs through multifunctional landscapes that mobilize sustainable finance, effective collaboration, and stakeholder engagement

Humanity stands at a critical crossroads as our planet’s health hangs in the balance. Unsustainable land use and resource mismanagement are accelerating environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, driving millions into food insecurity, economic hardship, and conflicts over dwindling resources. Despite the interconnected nature of these global crises—threatening local communities, global ecosystems, and life-supporting systems—responses often remain fragmented and siloed.

Yet, within these challenges lie opportunities for collective action at scale. We can work toward a shared vision of thriving populations in landscapes that are healthy, productive, biodiverse, resilient, low-emission, and equitable—truly multifunctional. Turning this vision into reality is already happening worldwide. However, achieving the necessary pace and scale requires overcoming systemic barriers—chief among them, the lack of sustained and adequate funding.

On 11 December 2024, CGIAR convened an interactive session with policymakers, researchers, and practitioners, to explore the multifaceted benefits of multifunctional landscapes, the challenges of securing sustainable financing and fostering effective collaboration while identifying innovative and just financing opportunities.

Ermias Betemariam, Land Health Scientist, the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), emphasized the need to harmonize financing of initiatives under the three Rio Conventions (climate, biodiversity, and land) at the national and project levels, where their impacts converge, citing the Uganda’s Cattle Corridor pilot project, co-funded by Green Climate Fund (GCF) and GEF, that exemplifies such integration.
“While climate finance is well-established, similar frameworks for biodiversity and land management remain underdeveloped, presenting challenges for donors who prioritize quantifiable outcomes,” stated Betemariam adding, “To address this, we must articulate the economic value of land and biodiversity, emphasizing cost-benefit analyses, return on investment, and the cost of inaction. Donors need quantifiable data to justify risk appetite, especially for long-term benefits of nature-based solutions. Increasing their willingness to invest in less tangible projects requires innovative approaches to measurement and communication.”

Natalia Estrada Carmona, scientist with Bioversity and CIAT addressing participants. Photo credit: CGIAR/Wandera OjanjiNatalia Estrada Carmona, scientist with Bioversity and CIAT cited research and funding as the two key challenges to making multifunctional landscapes thriving, life-filled lands. “In research, we often take a siloed approach, examining parts of the system rather than the whole.

Multifunctional landscapes demand a holistic perspective, yet we lack metrics to capture what truly matters, such as ecological intelligence or social behavior. For instance, monitoring systems must align with the interconnected realities of these landscapes. She lamented the fact that short-term, high-gain, tech-focused projects – that are attractive to funders – often do more harm than good and fail to achieve long-term results.

Alternatives and landscape approaches
While research and technology are essential, we need a paradigm shift in addressing sustainable development goals and global conventions. We need approaches that intentionally adopt multifunctional frameworks, integrate landscape-level planning, and involve participatory, multi-stakeholder processes that engage local communities from the outset. These approaches must recognizing synergies and mitigating trade-offs between goals like conservation, agriculture, and restoration. “Instead of addressing carbon, biodiversity, and agriculture separately, we need to manage landscapes to maximize collective benefits, especially for the people living there. Understanding how elements such as biodiversity, water, and restored land interact across agricultural and degraded landscapes will help us to optimize efforts where they are most needed.”

To meet global goals, Carmona called on the global community to rethink science, partnerships, and funding to enable backbone processes like capacity building and conflict resolution within landscapes; secure funding for learning and adaptation processes, which are essential but often overlooked in project proposals; and scale up implementation of systems thinking and support for locally led initiatives.

Key drivers of sustainable land use management

Benedict Charles Irwin, Senior Forestry Officer, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) pointed out elaborated six pillars—tenure, planning, partnerships, economics, participation, and legality—are interconnected drivers of sustainable land use management:

1. Ownership and resource rights are critical. Land degradation often arises from confusion over tenure. When people lack secure rights to their land, they have little incentive to invest in its maintenance. Secure tenure enables landowners to take responsibility and care for their resources.
2. Effective planning requires bridging the gap between land use planners and land users. Participatory and decentralized planning methods are vital to ensure alignment between policy and practice, empowering communities to have a say in decisions that affect their livelihoods.
3. Successful land use management hinges on robust partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders, with the power of pooling skills, resources, and knowledge.
4. Economic incentives play a pivotal role in sustainable land use. From individual household incomes to sectoral profitability in forestry, agriculture, and conservation, aligning economic benefits with sustainable practices is essential. Mechanisms such as results-based payments, payments for environmental services, and climate finance can reward communities transitioning to sustainable land management. Ensuring access to these tools fosters long-term economic and environmental balance.
5. Broad-based participation is fundamental. Involving stakeholders at every stage—from planning and implementation to monitoring—ensures that their knowledge, rights, and contributions are respected. By creating new opportunities for engagement, we can cultivate a new generation of stewards for sustainable land use.
6. Legal frameworks, institutions, and enforcement mechanisms are the backbone of sustainable land management. Communities need robust legal support to counteract illegal activities and protect their resources. A fair and effective justice system is critical to ensure that the interests of law-abiding land users prevail over those engaging in harmful practices.

Instruments and opportunities to promote soil and landscape health

Cargele Masso, Director, EHBIAP reminded the participants that the global community has indeed developed numerous instruments and frameworks to support soil and landscape health. “The path to promoting soil and landscape health involves aligning global commitments with local realities. By leveraging existing frameworks, improving data systems, and ensuring inclusivity, we can drive meaningful progress. Monitoring and regular reflection are crucial to adjust strategies and rise to the challenges ahead.”

He stressed the importance of reliable data and well-defined indicators as crucial for aligning global frameworks with national development goals. Indicators must reflect climate relevance while supporting objectives like food security, poverty reduction, and biodiversity conservation.

Cargele called on the CGIAR and its strategic partners to develop frameworks tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers, focusing on food security, youth employment, and inclusivity; strengthen countries’ capacities to design and implement sound proposals aligned with global instruments; and enhance ambition in monitoring progress, particularly through impact indicators that capture tangible improvements in soil and landscape health.