BIOTA SYNTHESIS - Nucleus of Analysis and Synthesis of Nature-Based Solutions

• Grant number: 20/06694-8
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Problem-Oriented Research Centers in São Paulo
• Duration: February 01, 2022 - January 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Jean Paul Walter Metzger
• Grantee: Jean Paul Walter Metzger
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Carlos Alfredo Joly ; Danilo Boscolo ; Gabriela Marques Di Giulio ; Gerd Sparovek ; Marisa Domingos ; Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion ; Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues
• Associated researchers: Adelaide Cassia Nardocci ; Adriano Pinter dos Santos ; Alexandre Toshiro Igari ; Alexandre Uezu ; Alice Dantas Brites ; Blandina Felipe Viana ; David Montenegro Lapola ; Denise Helena Silva Duarte ; Eduardo Humberto Ditt ; Gerson Laurindo Barbosa ; Giuliano Maselli Locosselli ; Humberto Ribeiro da Rocha ; Kaline de Mello ; Luciano Elsinor Lopes ; Luis Filipe Mucci ; Luiz Carlos Estraviz Rodriguez ; Marco Aurélio Nalon ; Marcos Silveira Buckeridge ; Maria Anice Mureb Sallum ; Natalia Macedo Ivanauskas ; Odair Aparecido Fernandes ; Patricia Guidão Cruz Ruggiero ; Paula Carvalho Pereda ; Paula Ribeiro Prist ; Paulo Guilherme Molin ; Paulo Renato Mesquita Pellegrino ; Rafael Barreiro Chaves ; Rafael Morais Chiaravalloti ; Renata Pardini ; Renato Pereira de Souza ; Silvia Serrao-Neumann ; Thais Mauad ; Tomas Ferreira Domingues ; Vânia Regina Pivello
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/09161-6 - Collaborative environmental public policy design for the state of São Paulo, BP.PD; 22/08728-2 - Ecosystem services modeling and human well-being in urban landscapes, BP.PD; 22/07192-1 - Modeling future scenarios for pollination and associated ecosystem services in face of landscape and climate changes, BP.PD; + associated scholarships 22/07381-9 - How human action affects the risk of zoonosis transmission in urban and rural landscapes: an one health approach, BP.PD; 22/07187-8 - Estimation and prediction of pollination and associated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, BP.PD; 22/07415-0 - Supporting decisions for forest landscape restoration and forest-based economy, BP.PD; 22/07712-5 - Operationalizing policies for forest landscape restoration and forest-based economy, BP.PD; 22/06504-0 - Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and urban interventions for climate adaptation in urban areas, BP.PD; 20/15785-7 - Relating the provision of cultural ecosystem services with human health in urban landscapes, BP.DR - associated scholarships

Abstract

This proposal seeks to create a nucleus of analysis and synthesis of nature-based solutions (the BIOTA SYNTHESIS) aimed at solving socio-environmental problems presented by the government of the state of São Paulo, with a focus on demands that have been put forward by the Secretariats of Infrastructure and Environment, Agriculture and Supply, and Health. The research approach is inspired by the Synthesis Centres format, where heterogeneous and collaborative groups are formed to incubate new ideas and solutions, from the reanalysis or reorganization of existing databases, or from the effectiveness analysis of previously applied interventions or public policies. Five thematic synthesis groups and a policy co-production group, each bringing together researchers and professionals from research institutions, government and NGOs, will compose BIOTA SYNTHESIS. The focus will be on thematic challenges related to sustainable agriculture, water security, zoonoses control, and prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases and common mental disorders in cities. We will value "solutions inspired and supported by nature", which can be more effective and less costly than solutions based solely on built infrastructure. These solutions are favoured by ecosystem services, i.e. the benefits that nature brings to society, as in the case of pollination in agriculture, or the role of native vegetation in the protection of water resources, or in reducing the spread of some zoonotic diseases. These solutions are related to native vegetation restoration and conservation actions, both in public (e.g. Protected Areas) and private areas (e.g. Legal Reserves, Permanent Preservation Areas), in the maintenance, expansion or improvement of green infrastructure in urban areas, in the adequate spatial planning of these areas and their species (for example, by controlling disease amplifying species such as java-pig), and, above all, in the strengthening or establishment of solid and efficient policies that promote these actions. Besides the collaborative approach and the focus on nature-based solutions, the different synthesis groups will be integrated in the light of the broader challenge of climate change, which impacts all the thematic challenges addressed. As these groups will always act in the format of coproduction of ideas and solutions, valuing both scientific knowledge and technical experience and practices, there will be greater opportunities for these solutions to be transformed into actions and public policies within the state government. (AU)