ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of what FLR means in practice and what makes it fundamentally different from more conventional approaches to putting trees back into the landscape. The chapter highlights the following points:
by itself, restoration through site-based interventions (such as afforestation schemes) is not capable of delivering the full range of forest goods and services that society and local communities require;
the aim of FLR is not to recreate the past but rather to keep future options open, both in terms of human well-being and ecosystem functionality (including biodiversity conservation);
land use and ecosystems change over time, so adaptability and, by extension, adaptive management lie at the heart of FLR; and
delivering meaningful results at the landscape level will require more than just technically competent interventions; it will also require a good understanding of how land-use policies and people's livelihood needs influence the overall quality and availability of forest goods and services in the landscape.
