Landscapes for public goods: multifunctional mosaics are fairer by far
How do we get the most public goods from forest landscapes when various publics in varying places make conflicting claims? One approach, caricatured as ‘monotypic masses’, says big ‘single use’ corporate blocks are best. But that brings ecological and social challenges (especially displacement) that may eventually undermine economic viability. A better approach is ‘multifunctional mosaics’ of smallholder forest-farm enterprises that offer both local and distant public goods. These can help ensure all publics receive a share of all public goods. The international Forest Connect alliance has shown that smallholders themselves generally favour multi-functional mosaics because these balance long and short term risks and returns. But making such mosaics viable at scale is an economic challenge that requires unprecedented ‘enabling’ investment.
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Available at https://www.iied.org/17164iied