This report presents the findings of the mid-term evaluation (MTE) of the second phase of IDH’s Initiative for Sustainable Landscapes (ISLA), funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ISLA programme was first launched in 2015 and is now half-way its second funding period (2021-2025).

In view thereof, the purpose of this MTE is—besides accountability to the donor—for IDH to learn, to inform strategic decision-making, and to instruct corrective actions if needed. This MTE covers the implementation of ISLA in seven landscapes: Mato Grosso (Brazil), Grand Mbam (Cameroon), Cavally (Côte d’Ivoire), Dembel-Shalla sub-basin (Ethiopia), West Kalimantan (Indonesia), South West Mau Forest (Kenya), and Central Highlands (Vietnam). ISLA intends to achieve transformational change at landscape level through convening multi-stakeholder coalitions (MSC) at multiple jurisdictional levels of government. These MSCs agree on and commit to sustainability targets for the jurisdiction (through a so-called Production-Protection-Inclusion—PPI—Compact).

Ultimately, the goal of the programme is to create better incomes for farmers and forest communities, reduce and eliminate deforestation, and restore and protect forests and natural ecosystems.