Water-smart Forest and Landscape Restoration Tool​ (W-FLR)

The following are SIWI publications with more detailed information about the water-forest-landscape nexus.

Forest and Water Nexus – Introduction

Championing the forest-water nexus: Report on the meeting of key forest and water stakeholders

Forests and Water: managing our connected natural capital

Contribution of the Forest-Water Champions to the Talanoa Dialogue

Managing the forest water nexus: Opportunities for climate change mitigation and adaptation

Forest-water connections to achieve the SDGs: A call to action

The essential drop to Net-Zero: Unpacking freshwater’s role in climate change mitigation  

Landscape restoration training manual

Participatory land use planning: Training manual

How landscapes and water mitigate climate change

Water for productive and multifunctional landscapes

Water, Forests, People: The Swedish Experience in Building Resilient Landscapes

Knowledge Production for Resilient Landscapes: Experiences from Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues on Water, Food, Forests, and Landscapes 

Forest ecosystems and water security are highly interdependent. Climate change exacerbates the need to support and manage these interdependences in the landscape. Forests are critical to the successful implementation of ecosystem-based climate change mitigation and adaptation, since they provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and storage, hydrological regulation and flood moderation. In addition, forests are water filters and reservoirs which ensure water quality and quantity in a time when water security is increasingly under threat due to climate change. However, forests are also water consumers, and it is important to understand the impacts that different tree species and densities may have on the hydrological cycle. Climate induced extreme events and water scarcity is becoming more serious in many parts of the world, and any action with cross-sectoral implications on water needs to be carefully planned to avoid unintended side-effects. This means that integrated management of forest and water resources is crucial – not the least in forest landscape restoration (FLR). 

Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) is a long-term, planned process that aims to regain ecological functionality and enhance human wellbeing in deforested or degraded multifunctional forest landscapes. FLR is designed to be a flexible process that includes multistakeholder participation, adequate monitoring and evaluation processes, and adaptive management responsive to social, economic, and environmental change.   

If you are involved in an FLR project or initiative, you will be able to contact us for guidance material and advice on, for example: 

• Support in applying the W-FLR Tool. 
• Where in the mosaic landscape tree planting would be most beneficial from a water perspective (e.g. enhance infiltration, reduce water erosion, and strengthen the hydrological cycle at different scales). 
• Which species selection that is favourable from a water-perspective. 
• Density and spacing of the trees to optimise hydrological flows. 
• Identification of national policy gaps related to management of the forest-water nexus and capacity development needs at landscape and national levels. 
• Support and guidance in capacity development. 
• Support and guidance in facilitation and dialogue between stakeholders.