Projects
Solutions From the Land
Solutions From the Land (SFL) is a national dialogue of landowners and conservationists focused on the sustainable policies and practices needed to meet food, feed, fiber and energy production needs while protecting natural resources and ecosystems.
In a report released in March 2013, SFL identified five broad challenges around which future policies, practices and land management approaches might be constructed. This report “was developed to help jump start a solutions-oriented, forward-looking conversation about America’s agricultural and forestry future,” said A.G. Kawamura, owner/partner of Orange County Produce, LLC and co-chair of SFL.
The report, A New Vision for United States Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation, is the result of a three-year conversation among thought leaders in agriculture, forestry and conservation to identify the land challenges faced today and in the years ahead, and propose pathways to address those challenges. The pathways proposed are not intended to be prescriptive, but rather to serve as the basis for robust, solutions-oriented conversations among the diverse range of stakeholders with interests in land use issues. This includes foresters, farmers, ranchers, conservationists, community leaders, recreation enthusiasts, the wildlife community, policy makers and agribusiness leaders.
Read the full report: A New Vision for United States Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation
Read the Executive Summary
The SFL report identifies five broad challenges to land management:
- Loss of working lands.
- Conflicting policies and inadequate rewards for ecosystem services.
- Declining investments in research and innovation.
- The changing climate.
- Multiple risks, such as volatile global markets, policy uncertainties and unpredictable weather.
The report also identifies potential ways to address these challenges:
- Implement landscape-scale solutions through coalitions of many stakeholders.
- Harmonize policy frameworks by reconciling conflicting policies and removing redundant paperwork.
- Develop a clear system to measure the value of ecosystem services and reward that stewardship accordingly.
- Energize and coordinate land management research.
- Transform and modernize networks to share information on sustainable practices.
Each of these five areas requires further development through a national conversation among the stakeholders to produce workable solutions that can realistically be delivered from the land. SFL is working to encourage groups and individuals to get involved.
For more information on opportunities to get involved in the SFL conversation visit the SFL website www.sfldialogue.net.
SFL’s founding partners include Farm Foundation, NFP, The Nature Conservancy, the United Nations Foundation and Conservation International.