Tropentag, September 16 - 18, 2026, Göttingen "Towards multi-functional agro-ecosystems promoting climate-resilient futures"

Multifunctional landscapes for climate-resilient futures: Connecting food, nature, livelihoods and governance at scale

The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, Multifunctional Landscapes, Kenya

Abstract

Agrifood systems must now deliver food, nutrition, livelihoods, climate resilience, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration at the same time. Yet these goals are often pursued through separate projects, policies and institutions. This fragmentation makes it difficult to manage trade-offs or build synergies across land, water, food, markets and governance. The challenge is urgent: 85 percent of wetlands are degraded, around 10 million hectares of forests are lost each year, one million species are at risk, global emissions remain at 50 to 60 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually, and about three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
The CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program responds by placing the landscape at the centre of agrifood systems transformation. Its ambition is to sustainably transform landscapes so they can deliver food, climate, nature and livelihood benefits simultaneously and at scale. The programme focuses on the critical space between farms and national or global systems, where decisions on production, restoration, water, biodiversity, tenure, markets and investment come together.
CGIAR MFL uses a participatory, transdisciplinary and integrated socio-ecological systems approach. It brings together five connected areas of work: Agroecology+ Solutions and Innovations; Landscape Optimisation and Inclusive Planning; Markets, Business Models and Sustainable Finance; Governance, Policy, Institutions and Inclusion; and Performance Assessment and Evidence Generation. Together, these areas support context-specific solution bundles rather than isolated interventions.
The programme works through Multifunctional Living Landscapes, which serve as long-term platforms for co-design, implementation, negotiation, monitoring and learning. In these landscapes, researchers, governments, farmers, pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, private actors and development partners identify priorities, align land and water management, strengthen governance, mobilise finance and generate evidence for scaling. MFL operates across diverse systems in Africa, Asia and Latin America, including highland-lowland mosaics, forest-savannah transitions, drylands, Sudano-Sahelian systems, Andean-Amazon systems and the Lower Mekong.
For Tropentag’s theme on multifunctional agro-ecosystems and climate-resilient futures, CGIAR MFL offers a practical model for connecting science with action. Its projected benefits include improved livelihoods and diets for about eight million people, restoration of more than 15 million hectares, around 800 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent mitigation, and maintenance or restoration of biodiversity and semi-natural habitats.

Contact Address: Lulseged Tamene Desta, The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, Multifunctional Landscapes, ILRI Campus, Nairobi, Kenya, e-mail: lt.destacgiar.org