ABSTRACT
Approaches to FLR that integrate diverse knowledge systems can be highly effective in reducing or mitigating drivers of landscape degradation that affect both the socio-cultural and ecological communities. Using examples from North America, we explore how such integration, using appropriate partnership models, can help to balance local and indigenous community values associated with forest landscapes with those of external stakeholders and society’s broader interests. Insights gained from the case studies presented and approaches discussed highlight efforts to accommodate traditional knowledge to a greater extent than previously considered. Success in collaborative management for FLR ultimately requires: (i) integrating management of the biophysical landscape with development needs of local residents; (ii) embracing the complexity and challenges associated with pluralistic decision-making and (iii) finding ways to transition from top-down decision-making to bottom-up collaborative approaches. Partnerships can utilize traditional and Western knowledge for problem conceptualization, planning, strategy development, implementation, management, research/monitoring and adaptation. Collectively, these can result in long-term collaborative restoration of landscapes and their ongoing stewardship, ensuring they contribute benefits to local and indigenous communities and the wider societies within which they live.
