The document discusses the "land sharing or land sparing" debate regarding balancing food production and biodiversity conservation. It argues that both land sharing and sparing approaches are needed depending on the socio-ecological context and objectives. Large-scale agriculture requires protecting customary land rights and regulating environmental impacts, while smallholder systems can provide goods and services if well-governed. Improving landscape-scale planning and investments in multifunctional landscapes can scale these approaches up to benefit communities and the environment.

1. The “land sharing or land sparing”
conundrum
Andrew Wardell and Robert Nasi,
CIFOR

2. Key messages
1. Need to integrate policy and land use planning by
moving out of sectoral ‘silos’
2. We need both land sharing and land sparing
contingent on socio-ecological system, objectives,
scale and trajectory of change whilst recognizing
the trade-offs
3. Governance reforms and appropriate institutions for
both smallholder and large-scale production

3. Evidence of impact
1. Rich cases studies – goods and services are
provided in smallholder-managed landscapes
while maintaining or enhancing food
production
2. Poverty Environment Network – food security
safety net provided by forests
3. Large-scale agribusiness schemes – need to
protect customary land tenure rights and
effectively regulate investments and
environmental impacts

4. Going to scale
• Improve governance, sector coordination, and
multistakeholder dialogue at landscape scale
• Increase investments in multifunctional
landscapes to produce multiple goods and
services whilst safeguarding interests of
vulnerable groups e.g. SAGCOT, Tanzania
• Innovative integrated and applied research to
inform decision-making e.g. ww.cifor.org/crp6 and
Landscapes for People, Food and Nature
Initiative www.landscapes.ecoagriculture.org

5. Evidence of impact
Selected references
• Carswell, G., 2002. Farmers and fallowing: agricultural change in Kigezi District,
Uganda. The Geographical Journal 168 (2): 130-140
• Borjesen,L. 2007. Boserup backwards? Agricultural intensification as ‘its own
driving force’ in the Mbulu highlands, Tanzania. Geogr. Ann. B (3): 249-267
• Poverty Environment Network - www.cifor.org/pen
• Managing forest landscapes – http://blog.cifor.org/8637/investing-in-managing-
forest-landscapes-improves-incomes-in-guinea/#.T5o4zK7j5fY
• Social and environmental risks associated with expansion of biofuel feedstocks -
www.ecologyandsociety.org/issues/view.php?sf=68
• Selman, P. 2009. Planning for landscape multifunctionality. Sustainabiloty: Science,
Practice & Policy Fall 2009; Vol. 5 Issue 2: 45-52
• Phalan et al, 2011. Reconciling food production and biodiversity conservation: Land
sharing and land sparing compared. Science 333: 1289-1291
• Tilman et al, 2011. Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of
agriculture PNAS USA 108 (5): 20260-20264
• Lambin, E.F. and Meyfroidt, P.,2011. Global land use change, economic
globalization and the looming land scarcity. PNAS 108 (9): 3465-3472