siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k-2a7eda5124914819.pdf

This policy brief, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute in June 2015, defines 'frontier landscapes' as remote, sparsely populated areas undergoing rapid transformation due to agricultural expansion and socio-economic shifts. Based on a multi-stakeholder forum at the Global Landscapes Forum in Lima, Peru, the document outlines six propositions to foster sustainable, inclusive, and legitimate development in these regions, emphasizing the need for early action, common ground, institutional capacity, political support, valuation of actor diversity, and robust monitoring.

• Frontier landscapes are characterized by rapid transformation driven by agricultural expansion and socio-economic changes, often featuring a diverse population ranging from large-scale agri-businesses and mining operations to subsistence farmers. These areas typically experience high rates of land use change and natural vegetation loss, often coupled with weak governance.
• The window of opportunity to implement sustainable and equitable land tenure and resource access is narrow due to the rapid pace of change in frontier landscapes. It is necessary to build social capital—networks of cooperative interactions—faster than the rate at which natural capital is eroded.
• Establishing common ground based on shared benefits or concerns, such as water resources, credit access, or education, is a vital first step for cooperation among diverse actors with different worldviews. The EcoAdapt project has used water security as a 'mobilizing resource' to engage stakeholders in Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.
• Incentive measures for land use change require strong, legitimate institutions to avoid increasing inequality or vulnerability for low-income landholders. Institutional capacity can be built through dialogue spaces, often facilitated by 'boundary actors' from civil society who possess local credibility and can translate information for decision-making.
• Inclusive development in frontier regions is facilitated by strong government commitment and clear regulatory frameworks, which are often lacking in these areas. Examples of such initiatives include Peru's Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (est. 2011), the Green County Programme in the Brazilian state of Pará, and Bolivia's Mother Earth Law.
• Standard, uniform policies designed for homogeneous agro-industrial regions can be socially unjust or inefficient when applied to the diverse actors in frontier landscapes. Effective policies should be tailored to specific actor capabilities, include equity safeguards, and account for interdependencies through knowledge-sharing.
• There is a critical need for integrated mechanisms to monitor social, ecological, economic, political, and institutional change in frontier landscapes to enable adaptive management. Currently, the lack of such monitoring has widened the gap between theoretical solutions and on-the-ground realities.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k-2a7eda5124914819.pdf. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k-2a7eda5124914819.pdf. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k-2a7eda5124914819.pdf |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendsianidb2015frontierlandscapes1503k2a7eda5124914819pdf, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k-2a7eda5124914819.pdf}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Air-land-water-resources/siani-db-2015-frontier-landscapes-1503k.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }