General

Competing land use and resource claims by a wide variety of actors converge at the landscape level. Landscapes are therefore increasingly seen as the spatial scale on which many stakeholders, from global to local level, need to cooperate. Solidaridad's strategy is to develop and/or strengthen policy neutral platforms that bridge the intrinsic tensions between production, farmers’ livelihoods and the environment. The platforms form the basis of a new governance structure that aims to formulate management frameworks for production and natural resource management, based on pilot tested technological solutions. By bringing together regional government and sourcing companies to the negotiating table with those living in the landscape, who were previously not involved, win-win solutions can be found and tested that are supported by local people. Our Landscape Approach sees 5 major steps: Connect stakeholders and create a space for dialogue and planning: we bring together stakeholders in multi-stakeholder partnerships and platforms to enable alignment and cooperation. Build a collective body of landscape knowledge: together with the variety of stakeholders and local and international research institutions. This shared knowledge base is a critical foundation for analysis, decision making, action, monitoring and communication. Develop and test: Identified solutions need to be actionable, affordable and have to make business sense. We work with farmers, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and downstream supply chain actors and we seek to develop business models which generate a viable income, support investment in improved practices, and contribute to protection and restoration of natural resources. Bridge the gap between policy and practice: There are many ways in which landscape governance can fall short: policies are either not in place, are weak or conflicting, or simply unknown, and institutions often lack the capacity, incentives or means to implement and enforce policies. We raise awareness on existing policy frameworks which affect land use planning and resource management, and we identify the requirements to improve governance in practice. Solidaridad fulfils a key role through linking community level issues to district and national level planning and policy dialogues. Unlock finance for sustainable landscapes: access to finance or capital investment is often required in order to change practices on the ground. Providing access to finance at producer level for replanting and enabling investment in renewable energy at municipal level require different means of financial support.

General

Around the world, seasonally dry tropical forests have in the past been disregarded as marginal wastelands but are now recognised for the importance of their biodiversity and potential ecosystem services. They face critical challenges of conservation, unsustainable use leading to desertification, local poverty and migration to urban areas. In Brazil, 11% of its land area is this type of forest, called the Caatinga. There is an urgent need to provide methods by which this fragile biome can be monitored and protected, for the plants, animals and people who live there. The aim of this project is to develop a tool that can provide a new level, quality and accessibility of information for 1) biodiversity monitoring at species level and 2) an assessment of ecosystem quality, with resulting implications for land use. Quantitative maps generated by this novel technology can be used to optimise resources and underpin policy and forest management methods. This project will generate technological innovation by integrating high resolution remote sensing (hyperspectral imaging from drones using Rutherford Appleton Laboratory camera systems) with ground-based measurement on the ground (including plant spectral profiles and LIDAR). One way in which it will be tested will be examination of effects of various levels of cattle grazing upon the forest, as a widespread human/environment interaction. To achieve its aims, the project team is interdisciplinary and international, with research partners from the UK and Brazil. The project will also involve Brazilian stakeholders from federal and state level ministries, agencies and advisory groups, as well as NGOs and other groups responsible for communities and for policymaking. By seeking their specific needs for affordable, practical technology at the start of the project, and by facilitating their planning for uptake of the technology by the end of the project, the project will seek to maximise its impact in Brazil. The technology will also have broader relevance to other seasonal dry forests and indeed other threatened, inaccessible ecosystems around the globe. Thus, through the technological innovation and deliberate engagement of stakeholders, the project will address the UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: 'Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss'.

Objectives

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) supports cutting-edge research to address challenges faced by developing countries. The fund addresses the UN sustainable development goals. It aims to maximise the impact of research and innovation to improve lives and opportunity in the developing world.