This talk will spark a discussion about the opportunities, but also the limits, of how far scientists can make their results accessible to local communities or at least to certification bodies such as FSC that have more established participation processes. While there are inherent difficulties in making complex issues accessible to people across various educational and cultural backgrounds, the FSC is strongly involving stakeholders across the landscape, including indigenous communities otherwise often neglected. Fritz Kleinschroth will discuss the DAFNE project, a large collaboration between universities and research institutes across 14 European and African countries, as well as use his experience in forest certification with the FSC to illustrate what is needed in sustainability certification and scientific projects from a landscape perspective.