This synthesis report consolidates existing evidence on the multifunctional performance of the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) landscape in western Kenya and supports the implementation of Areas of Work 2 and 6 of the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program (MFL SP). The report integrates agronomic, economic, environmental, and social dimensions of landscape performance to inform the Vision-to-Action (V2A) process and the co-design of landscape-specific assessment frameworks.
Tag: assessment
Local Indicator Selection Process (LISP): For designing context-specific agroecological performance assessments
How can agroecological performance be assessed in ways that are both locally meaningful and globally credible? The Local Indicator Selection Process (LISP) offers a practical, participatory answer. Developed and tested across diverse contexts, this guide supports teams in co-designing indicators that reflect local priorities while remaining aligned with broader agroecological assessment frameworks.
Grounded in the Holistic Localized Performance Assessment (HOLPA) Framework, LISP provides step-by-step guidance for facilitators and project managers to convene stakeholders, articulate shared visions, and translate them into robust, measurable indicators across agricultural, environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The process balances scientific rigor with inclusivity, ensuring indicators are meaningful, feasible, and responsive to real-world change.
Designed for use within Agroecology Living Landscapes (ALLs) but adaptable far beyond them, this publication is a hands-on resource for anyone seeking to generate credible evidence of agroecological transitions, whether for community monitoring, project evaluation, or investment decision-making. LISP puts local knowledge at the center of performance assessment, where it belongs.
Developing a conceptual framework for a citizen science-based agroecology self-assessment tool
Introduction: Agroecology offers a promising approach to strengthen, and revolutionise, smallholder food and agricultural systems. Unfortunately, the assessment of agroecology impact at different scales and contexts is hindered by a lack of data and a lack of awareness of the potential of agroecology. Citizen science approaches are, however, demonstrating a knowledge revolution where learning is vested in the hands and tools of the farmers. The self-correcting mechanisms, that citizen science offers, enable the farmers to learn about and change their practices through the evidence they discover. In this way, the ability to change comes from within farmers’ experience and practices rather than farmers receiving information and knowledge from the outside. The purpose of this research work was to develop an accessible citizen science-based Agroecology Self-Assessment (ASA) tool framework. Methods: This proposed ASA framework is purely conceptual, at this stage, and encompasses both physical and digital tools that can be used to assess agroecological practices and has the potential to address gaps related to agroecology performance assessments, data generation and knowledge-sharing. Furthermore, the proposed tool could lead to the development of a citizen science community of practice to empower smallholder farmers to collaborate and share both new and indigenous knowledge practices. Through fieldwork, the feasibility of using a mobile application to both collect data on various agroecological indicators, such as soil health, biodiversity, and water management, as well as socioeconomic factors related to agroecology was investigated. Results and discussion: The findings from the fieldwork showed that there is interest by smallholder farmers and agricultural extension officers in the use of citizen-science tools to complement and enhance agroecological practices. The conceptual design and framework for the ASA tool was developed using the information from a desktop-based literature review and findings from discussions with smallholder farmers, researchers and agricultural extension officers. It is envisaged that the ASA tool, once in operation, will provide smallholder farmers with personalised feedback based on household and field assessments, foster knowledge sharing and self-correcting mechanisms. Such applied practices enable, and strengthen, evidence-based decision-making. The study concludes that the ASA tool is undoubtably needed and should include relevant practical assessment tools.
Early-stage sustainability assessment of greywater treatment with Moringa oleifera seed extract and biochar
Access to safe and reliable water remains a significant challenge in much of the Global South, especially in rural areas where greywater treatment infrastructure is lacking. This study presents an early-stage sustainability assessment of a novel system that utilises biochar and Moringa oleifera seed extracts to treat greywater in rural Kenyan households. The proposed solution combines local biochar, a by-product of wood gasification cookstoves, and powdered Moringa oleifera seed cake, a residue from local agroforestry activities. The presented assessment applied a qualitative approach that integrates life cycle, circular bioeconomy, and sustainable sanitation principles. The key sustainability opportunities involved in the assessed system include improved human health and hygiene, the carbon sequestration potential of biochar, greywater reuse, and efficient use of local biomass resources. However, the system also involves risks related to filter media disposal, nutrient loss and system maintenance. The analysis highlights the trade-offs between using Moringa oleifera seed cake for water purification and animal feed. Moreover, the early-stage assessment identifies the need for pilot trials, participatory design and data collection to develop future life cycle analyses and implementation strategies. This integrated approach provides a sound basis for the sustainable development of natural greywater treatment systems that meet the goals of a circular bioeconomy.
Monitoring Nature-Based Solutions for Emission Reductions: Insights from Makueni and Taita Taveta Counties, Kenya
This insights brief begins by outlining the global challenges of land degradation and the corresponding international commitments. It highlights the central role of nature-based solutions (NbS), particularly FLR, as a pivotal strategy for combating land degradation and mitigating climate change. It then outlines Kenya’s FLR priorities, describes the monitoring of FOLAREP outcomes at national and county levels, and underscores the importance of robust land-health indicators. It highlights the use of the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry’s (CIFOR-ICRAF’s) Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF) for the systematic landscape-level assessment of soil and ecosystem health and its integration with the Regreening App, emphasising the importance of citizen science for effective NbS monitoring. Initial LDSF results for Makueni and Taita Taveta sites are presented and the co-created UK PACT NbS Dashboard is introduced, illustrating how clear, accessible evidence can enhance transparency, support adaptive management, and strengthen policy coherence and decision-making. The brief concludes with key insights for effective NbS monitoring drawn from the UK PACT experience.
Assessing people’s perceptions of forests in Danau Sentarum Wildlife reserve
Previous research identified three important issues of relevance to forest people’s roles in sustain- able forest management which we address here: the presence of a Conservation ethics, a feeling of closeness to the forest, and a significant forest-culture link. In this paper we examine a method (the Galileo), recently pre-tested for this purpose in West Kalimantan, which we hope can help us to assess such issues quickly, reliably and in a quantitative manner amenable to use by would-be assessors of various educational and experiential levels. We describe the method, suggest improvements for future tests, and present some of our findings from West Kalimantan. We conclude with questions that emerged during our pre-test, and others that remain for subsequent research.
Initiatives on assessing sustainability: status and future directions. Summary of the Open Session of the Third International Project Advisory Panel (IPAP) meeting on Testing Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Forests, Turrialba, Costa Rica, February 29 – March 1, 1996. CIFOR/ CATIE Special Publication
In a year marked by several formal expert-level meetings on certification of forest management and criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management (C&I), most of which were related to the mandate of the Inter-governmental Panel on Forests (IPF), CIFOR and CATIE decided to lead off by hosting an informal meeting of experts from a cross-section of important certification and C&I initiatives. Our desire was to facilitate an effective exchange of information between these initiatives, providing feedback to CIFOR, CATIE and other research institutions involved in the development of sustainability assessment methods and with a view to preparing the ground for subsequent IPF-related meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Brisbane, Bonn and Helsinki. The meeting was conducted under the umbrella of the International Project Advisory Panel (IPAP) of CIFOR’s project on “Testing criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management”. This CIFOR/CATIE special publication is a report of the meeting. It contains an essay-type summary of the major points raised at the meeting and short summaries of twelve presentations made during panel discussions. The conclusions of this meeting will hopefully be an aid to other groups working on sustainability assessment and C&I.
Capacity Needs and Technical Barriers to Achieving Our Global Restoration Ambitions (Target 2): Insights from five pilot countries Burkina Faso, Kenya, Peru, Viet Nam and Brazil, and global-level reflection meetings
To successfully implement Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) and achieve restoration at scale, it is essential to address key knowledge and capacity gaps, as well as technical barriers. Insights from five national dialogues held in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Peru, and Viet Nam, along with reflections from two capacity assessments, one from the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Best Practices Task Force and one from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Subsidiary Body Early Actions Support.
Combining multicriteria decision making and geographic information system for assessing forest sustainability
This paper describes an integrated framework for assessing the sustainability og managed forests. The framework builds on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). Sustainability of forests is assessed in terms of Criteria and Indicators (C & I) as proporsed by a number of national and international inititatives. MCDM procedures are used to help: 1) identify appropriate C & I; 2) prioritize and select a set of C & I to be used for sustainability assessment; and 3) develop a technique that can be used to estimate a “sustainability index”. GIS on the other hand, will be used for: 1) generating and displaying needed information for the C & I assessment; 2) serving as the platform for doing spatial analysis; and 3) acting as the modeling environment for the estimation of a geographically-specific “sustainability index value”. The integrated GIS-MCDM approach is participative, transparent, systematic, and objective. Mixed data (i.e, qualitative and quantitative) can be accomodated. Various methodologies dealing with multiple criteria, multiple decision makers, and the hierarchical structure of C & I will be described. Formal models will be described; each model designed to address different issues in the C & I hierarchy. The integrated approach will be applied and tested using actual forests managed and operated by a timber company in Indonesia.
Measuring the holistic performance of food and agricultural systems: a systematic review
Assessing the performance of food and agricultural systems is crucial for their transformation toward sustainability, health, and resilience. To ensure agrifood systems serve multiple functions effectively, a holistic systems perspective is essential. Previous reviews of assessment methods have focused mainly on farm-level evaluations, often lacking a comprehensive framework for holistic analysis. This study evaluates 206 assessment approaches based on four key principles of holistic systems assessment: (1) measuring multiple dimensions of performance, (2) integrating diverse stakeholder perspectives, (3) evaluating emergent system properties, and (4) collecting and presenting data to reveal interactions, synergies, and trade-offs for informed decision-making. While recognition of holistic assessment is growing, most evaluations remain narrowly focused on performance metrics, with only 14% of assessments addressing synergies and trade-offs and 26% considering emergent system properties. A shift toward systemic framings, such as agroecology, is observed, highlighting the importance of broader contextual approaches. The study concludes that no single assessment framework can universally apply across all agrifood systems due to their inherent diversity. Instead, it emphasizes the need for clear guidance to help practitioners navigate existing methods and develop tailored assessments that address specific needs. The meta-framework proposed in this review offers structured guidance for designing effective holistic systems assessments, ensuring more comprehensive evaluations.