The ‘landscape approach’ has been increasingly promoted during recent years as a new perspective for addressing global problems. It is hailed as inclusive, equitable and multi-stakeholder, and as a better way of addressing and resolving conflicts in land and water management. But some serious challenges still remain in reconnecting agriculture to other functions of the landscape, and especially in finding a balance of interests in the face of unequal power relations.
As we see from the experiences presented in these pages, creating a political space for family farmers and community organisations is of crucial importance. This issue of Farming Matters makes a call for those involved to challenge top-down concepts that frame today’s landscape approach. But we should not seek an alternative. Rather, we must provide a better platform for those who need to be heard – the real managers of the land, our landscapes. Only with them can we shape a sustainable future.
