Looking for Local Community-Led Action and Solutions for Food-Water-Land Security in Pará, Brazilian Amazon.

• Grant number: 25/04714-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Mateus Batistella
• Grantee: Guilherme de Sousa Lobo
• Host Institution: Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais (NEPAM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/12425-8 - Confronting 'Green Colonialism' - Indigenous- and Local Community-Led Action and Solutions for Food-Water-Land Security, AP.R

Abstract

Local communities are at the forefront of climate change impacts, yet they also possess the knowledge and leadership needed to develop solutions that ensure food, water, and territorial security. Their territories, rich in ecological and cultural diversity, are home to over 80% of the world's biodiversity and are increasingly vulnerable to climate change. Local communities, such as traditional Amazonian riverine populations, often lack access to essential resources to cope with extreme weather events and recurring climate disasters, including floods and prolonged droughts. Additionally, the development of large-scale hydropower projects, for instance, has led to the degradation and loss of vital water and food resources. Many communities also face forced displacement and disruptions to their cultural practices, such as small-scale agriculture and extractivism, which are fundamental to food security and their traditional ways of life.Despite their vulnerability to such socio-environmental conflicts, locally led solutions play a crucial role in mitigating and adapting to these challenges in the Amazon-particularly through socio-bioeconomy initiatives. The socio-bioeconomy refers to an economic model based on the forest and its socio-biodiversity, promoting equity and wealth generation through the region's biocultural diversity, with a strong leadership role played by Indigenous peoples and local communities.Given the threats posed by human activities and the potential of the socio-bioeconomy, identifying solutions rooted in local knowledge is essential to securing energy, food, and water resources. This postdoctoral research project will investigate socio-bioeconomic solutions to conflicts arising from climate change impacts and intensifying factors such as large-scale infrastructure projects. This interdisciplinary study will focus on river basins in the state of Pará-such as the Xingu and Tapajós-and will be structured around five key objectives: (1) Mapping the profile and geographic distribution of community-led socio-bioeconomy initiatives in production hubs, (2) Analyzing the vulnerabilities of the socio-bioeconomy to climate change and land use, using geotechnologies to identify spatial patterns, (3) Investigating socio-bioeconomic solutions in light of climate change and land use challenges, (4) Exploring the transferability of these solutions across different local and regional scales, both in political and practical terms, and (5) Implementing strategies to disseminate findings, strengthen collaborative networks, and provide accessible tools for communities and policymakers.