Why use a knowledge platform? 

Knowledge generation is one of the key tools nowadays for promoting development strategies of poverty reduction, food security and sustainability. Through this Platform, FAO hopes to foster integrated approaches that include both the socio-economic dimensions and the sustainable management of natural resources, as well as supporting the exchange of good practices in terms of tools that facilitate these approaches. 

FAO understands that major efforts must be made in order for the organizations associated with the design, implementation and monitoring of territorial and landscape policies, programs and projects to have well-trained professionals that promote sustainable actions and foster a fluid relationship between the different organizations generating knowledge. 

With this initiative, FAO intends to document how governments are supporting the implementation of these approaches and what are the main challenges in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable rural development. This Platform is intended to lay the foundations for expanding the repository of territorial and landscape experiences, thereby fostering mutual learning between different regions and countries around the world. 

Through the participation and contributions of local actors, the needs of these territories will be addressed and met, enabling easy access to knowledge and solutions, while also promoting good practices and success stories among the various members of the Platform. 

Who uses this Platform? 

The primary users of the Inclusive and Sustainable Territories and Landscapes Platform are actors that play a role in the design and management of territorial and/or landscape development policies, programs and projects: government agency specialists, project implementation units, territorial companies and associations, universities and research centers, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, etc. 

What will you find on this Platform and how can you participate? 

The Platform offers a conceptual framework for territorial and landscape development approaches in addition to the main components that characterize said approaches. A list of the primary tools for operationalizing the Platform in the territories has been compiled for each component, as well as potential indicators to measure them. 

In conjunction with local actors, the project team offers the innovative element of mapping territorial and landscape development experiences by countries and regions, as well as the systematization of relevant case studies in Colombia, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Moldavia, and Lebanon. The results of this initiative will be presented at a Workshop in Lebanon in December of 2019 and disseminated through this Platform.