LINKAGES: local and Indigenous knowledge for Amazonian grounded (bio)economy

• Grant number: 21/10805-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Duration: October 01, 2022 - September 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Convênio/Acordo: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
• Principal Investigator: Celia Regina Tomiko Futemma
• Grantee: Celia Regina Tomiko Futemma
• Principal researcher abroad: Fabio de Castro
• Institution abroad: University of Amsterdam (UvA), Netherlands
• Host Institution: Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais (NEPAM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: André Pereira de Carvalho ; Eduardo Sonnewend Brondizio ; Lee Jonathan Pegler
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/04705-0 - Value chains of sociobiodiversity products from the Brazilian Amazon: social and institutional analysis of multiple stakeholders, social technologies and participatory approaches, BP.PD; 23/01499-0 - Value chains based on Amazonian sociobiodiversity: new arrangements for the social welfare and maintenance of ecosystem services, BP.DR

Abstract

LINKAGES addresses how value-chains of sociobiodiversity products, grounded in local knowledge and produced in forest, agroforestry, and floodplain-lakes, can support local economies and regional transformation towards inclusive and sustainable bioeconomies for the Brazilian Amazon. From local to international markets, sociobiodiversity products represent the largest and most inclusive bioeconomies of the region, providing income and employment for a vast population in rural and urban areas. Yet, these value-chains tend to promote value-aggregation proportionally to the distance these products travel from their place of origin and producers' hands. The project focuses on two regions - the Estuary/Acará Valley and the Lower Amazon/Santarém - characterized by mosaic and fast-changing landscapes. We will co-produce applied knowledge on three major groups of sociobiodiversity products in forest (timber, non-timber forest products), agroforestry (açaí, cacao, tropical fruits), and floodplain-lakes (pirarucu/arapaima) systems. The concept of Place-based Sustainable Supply Chains guides the selection of cases in which producers co-design, but often not benefiting from the value-aggregation of their products. Through inter- and transdisciplinary knowledge co-production, involving small-scale producers, socioenvironmental NGOs, and sustainability-oriented businesses, the project is structured in three Working Packages. WP1 addresses the economic and social contributions of sociobiodiverse products value-chains, how benefits are distributed across actors, and how to improve local-level value-aggregation. WP2 addresses, through geospatial analysis and participatory mapping, the impacts of value-chains on the landscape, and identifies opportunities for promoting sustainable multifunctional landscapes. WP3 engages stakeholders in knowledge co-production and exchange for strengthening place-based value-chains. The project advances a critical perspective to the bioeconomy agenda and practices in the region while co-produced applied knowledge to strengthen the economic, environmental, administrative and technical performances of existing bioeconomies. We aim at contributing to improving value-aggregation, benefit sharing, and multifunctional landscape outcomes for families, communities, and municipalities at the basis of these value-chains as a pathway to regional transformation. (AU)