Amazonia-Yungas Observatory on Biodiversity and Indigenous Health and Well-being: Development of a South-South-North Research and Partner Consortium

This proposal is for a 6 month partnership and project development catalyst project to build an interdisciplinary research and partner consortium that will involve and support some of the most marginalised peoples in their countries and internationally. Indigenous peoples are amongst the most disadvantaged peoples internationally. Yet these peoples are also the guardians of some of the most important ecosystems of the planet. Amazonia is one of Earth's most precious ecosystems. As the Amazonian forest reaches the Andes it merges with a contiguous and equally important biosphere: the Yungas (or Cloud Forest). These two sister forest ecosystems are amongst the most biodiverse regions of the world, spanning several Latin American countries including Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia. Together, across these four countries, these ecosystems span more than 6 million square kilometers, roughly 25 times the size of the UK. For millennia, spanning modern geopolitical boundaries, over 400 different indigenous peoples have protected Amazonia and the Yungas. In turn Amazonia and the Yungas have provided health and well-being for these indigenous peoples via food, medicines, home, culture, and natural resources. These forest biospheres also provide the world with some of its most important ecosystem services in terms of forest and food resources, current and potential new medicines, rainfall regulation and a global carbon sink. Internationally, there is an urgent need to improve understanding of the importance of biodiversity for human health and well-being particularly for communities directly dependent on biodiverse ecosystems. The need is especially urgent in this fragile and vital region, home to such interdependent biological and cultural diversity, and currently under major threat from exogenous forces such as deforestation, resource extraction and climate change. This proposal is for a 6-month grant to develop a major partnership and research consortium to lead and manage an Amazonia-Yungas Observatory on Biodiversity and Indigenous Health and Wellbeing. Such an observatory will provide vital evidence on the links of biodiversity and indigenous health and well-being in the region and internationally, and will be a major evidence base for decision-makers and indigenous and environmental stakeholder groups. This proposal is led by international and regional scientists from Argentina, Peru, Brazil, the UK and Canada who form an initial interdisciplinary team of biologists, social and environmental epidemiologists, anthropologists, veterinary scientists and social scientists working with a diverse group of local, regional and international actors including ecological foundations and indigenous associations, and international agencies. If awarded, we place a major emphasis on development of partners who will support and guide the Observatory and who will be major users of the Observatory in the longer term. Aims: 1. To develop a multi-disciplinary South-South-North research consortium to propose, then lead and run a Yungas-Amazonia Observatory on Biodiversity and Indigenous Health and Well-being 2. To develop a multi-stakeholder network of partner organisations committed to develop, support, promote and use findings of the Yungas-Amazonia Observatory on Biodiversity and Indigenous Health and Well-being Specific Objectives: a. To review existing evidence on links of biodiversity and indigenous health in the Yungas and Amazonia. b. To hold a regional workshop with both partner organisations and members of the proposed research consortium to discuss and develop a major interdisciplinary proposal for a 5 year Yungas-Amazonia Observatory on Biodiversity and Indigenous Health and Well-being. c. To produce a proposal for the Yungas-Amazonia Observatory including research team and methods; partner organisations; impact plan; environmental offsetting plan; and beneficiary and uptake plan.