PARAMO - Provisioning of ecosystem services And cultuRAl values in the MOntane tropics
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: School of Biosciences
Abstract
The tropics harbour more species than anywhere else on Earth. This biodiversity supports a number of ecosystem services -- benefits that humankind derives from the natural environment, including water, nutrient-rich soils and pest-control by predatory birds and insects -- that are essential for human well-being, and it also underpins many cultural attachments that people have with nature. However, the disturbance of natural habitats and their conversion for other uses, such as farming, are driving a global extinction crisis. This project takes an innovative approach to understand the links between biodiversity and ecosystem services and cultural provision using the Colombian Andes as a case study.
The Colombian Andes are one of the most biodiversity rich places on Earth, their soils contain carbon-rich peats, ecosystem services are derived for the majority of Colombia's human population, and these are rich in cultural values on both a personal and community level. In spite of this tremendous wealth, hostilities in Colombia have long hampered research to understand eco-cultural relationships. The reduction in hostilities creates a policy window to impact the development of a sustainable bioeconomy, i.e. the economic exploitation of its biological resources, underpinned by Colombia's high biodiversity. There are inherent environmental and cultural risks of capitalising upon biodiversity, which could drive negative outcomes for conservation or society. Our multidisciplinary programme will answer the major, unanswered question of how best to incorporate and optimise the combination of biodiversity, ecosystem service, and cultural values within natural resource management. In doing so, we will transform the role of cultural heritage and human-environmental experiential knowledge within the design of conservation programmes.
Our study will answer this key overarching question by fulfilling four main Objectives that will: (1) define the impacts of habitat conversion and disturbance on biodiversity; (2) resolve how ecosystem service provisioning and resilience is affected by habitat conversion and disturbance, focusing specifically on carbon stocking, nutrient recycling, soil nutrient and water retention, and landslide prevention; (3) understand how local communities perceive and attach cultural value to biodiversity and ecosystem services, via a program of story-telling workshops; and (4) integrate environmental and cultural values to co-design natural resource management, and translate these findings to core stakeholders, from local communities, to NGOs and relevant government departments. This research will thus enable our multidisciplinary team of experts to support Colombia in developing its economy in a manner that continues to protect biodiversity, ecosystem services and cultural values and beliefs.
The Colombian Andes are one of the most biodiversity rich places on Earth, their soils contain carbon-rich peats, ecosystem services are derived for the majority of Colombia's human population, and these are rich in cultural values on both a personal and community level. In spite of this tremendous wealth, hostilities in Colombia have long hampered research to understand eco-cultural relationships. The reduction in hostilities creates a policy window to impact the development of a sustainable bioeconomy, i.e. the economic exploitation of its biological resources, underpinned by Colombia's high biodiversity. There are inherent environmental and cultural risks of capitalising upon biodiversity, which could drive negative outcomes for conservation or society. Our multidisciplinary programme will answer the major, unanswered question of how best to incorporate and optimise the combination of biodiversity, ecosystem service, and cultural values within natural resource management. In doing so, we will transform the role of cultural heritage and human-environmental experiential knowledge within the design of conservation programmes.
Our study will answer this key overarching question by fulfilling four main Objectives that will: (1) define the impacts of habitat conversion and disturbance on biodiversity; (2) resolve how ecosystem service provisioning and resilience is affected by habitat conversion and disturbance, focusing specifically on carbon stocking, nutrient recycling, soil nutrient and water retention, and landslide prevention; (3) understand how local communities perceive and attach cultural value to biodiversity and ecosystem services, via a program of story-telling workshops; and (4) integrate environmental and cultural values to co-design natural resource management, and translate these findings to core stakeholders, from local communities, to NGOs and relevant government departments. This research will thus enable our multidisciplinary team of experts to support Colombia in developing its economy in a manner that continues to protect biodiversity, ecosystem services and cultural values and beliefs.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit from this research?
This project has access to extensive resources for dissemination to end users (see Pathways to Impact). Four UK and Colombian societal groups will benefit from the proposed research. (1) Conservation and cultural research bodies, NGOs, and environment policy-makers and assessment panels. (2) Rural Colombians in the páramo-cloudforest Andes. (3) Biology/Environmental and Arts and Humanities university students. (4) Members of the general public concerned about tropical forest loss and biodiversity extinction, plus those interested in birds.
How will they benefit from this research?
(1) Conservation and cultural research bodies, NGOs, and environment policy-makers and assessment panels. To develop a sustainable bioeconomy underpinned by culturally sensitive natural resource management, environmental funders and managers need two core pieces of information that this project will provide: (i) an understanding of the link between biodiversity, resulting ecosystem functioning, and the flows of ecosystem services to people; and (ii) how people culturally value to their natural environment.
Our principal collaborators in Colombia are at the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt (IaVH), which is funded by the Colombian government to research the nation's biological resources, their social influence, and their management. Several major UK- and Colombia-based NGOs, including WWF-Colombia, World Land Trust, Conservación Internacional, and ProAves (in)directly invest in the protection and/or purchase of critical areas for conservation in the Colombian Andes. Our research will inform both groups. Finally, UK and Colombian governments have made international agreement under the Convention of Biological Diversity 2011-2020 'Aichi Biodiversity Targets' to reduce extinction threat, and in doing so, meet SDG15 'Life on Land'. As a hotspot of extinction risk and ecosystem service losses, the Tropical Andes must be a focus of efforts, requiring international collaboration. In this respect, we will link our study to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), so that our results can feed into future regional and global assessments of the impacts of land degradation.
(2) Rural Colombians in the páramo-cloudforest Andes. Using this information, natural resource managers will be able to help improve poor rural Colombian people's lives by protecting or restoring core environmental services from which people benefit. Benefits could flow via direct financial mechanisms to protect natural habitat, such a carbon-based payments for ecosystems services (which our previous research in the Colombian Andes has quantified), reduced flood and landslide risk, and maintenance of key cultural values and human well-being.
(3) Colombian (BSc or MSc) and UK (BSc) students will gain opportunities to develop core transferable skills in data handling and manipulation techniques, plus experience of data collection during fieldwork and workshops. Further, Colombian students will gain international links that will benefit their career progressions.
(4) UK and Colombian general public. Many in the UK and Colombian wider general public are interested in or concerned about biodiversity conservation issues and climate change, and will benefit from the project's media engagement, as well as its capacity for wider public engagement in these issues, especially by bringing previously unheard community voices into the public discourse. Further, there is significant interest around birds, in terms of locations, records, and sound recordings.
This project has access to extensive resources for dissemination to end users (see Pathways to Impact). Four UK and Colombian societal groups will benefit from the proposed research. (1) Conservation and cultural research bodies, NGOs, and environment policy-makers and assessment panels. (2) Rural Colombians in the páramo-cloudforest Andes. (3) Biology/Environmental and Arts and Humanities university students. (4) Members of the general public concerned about tropical forest loss and biodiversity extinction, plus those interested in birds.
How will they benefit from this research?
(1) Conservation and cultural research bodies, NGOs, and environment policy-makers and assessment panels. To develop a sustainable bioeconomy underpinned by culturally sensitive natural resource management, environmental funders and managers need two core pieces of information that this project will provide: (i) an understanding of the link between biodiversity, resulting ecosystem functioning, and the flows of ecosystem services to people; and (ii) how people culturally value to their natural environment.
Our principal collaborators in Colombia are at the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt (IaVH), which is funded by the Colombian government to research the nation's biological resources, their social influence, and their management. Several major UK- and Colombia-based NGOs, including WWF-Colombia, World Land Trust, Conservación Internacional, and ProAves (in)directly invest in the protection and/or purchase of critical areas for conservation in the Colombian Andes. Our research will inform both groups. Finally, UK and Colombian governments have made international agreement under the Convention of Biological Diversity 2011-2020 'Aichi Biodiversity Targets' to reduce extinction threat, and in doing so, meet SDG15 'Life on Land'. As a hotspot of extinction risk and ecosystem service losses, the Tropical Andes must be a focus of efforts, requiring international collaboration. In this respect, we will link our study to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), so that our results can feed into future regional and global assessments of the impacts of land degradation.
(2) Rural Colombians in the páramo-cloudforest Andes. Using this information, natural resource managers will be able to help improve poor rural Colombian people's lives by protecting or restoring core environmental services from which people benefit. Benefits could flow via direct financial mechanisms to protect natural habitat, such a carbon-based payments for ecosystems services (which our previous research in the Colombian Andes has quantified), reduced flood and landslide risk, and maintenance of key cultural values and human well-being.
(3) Colombian (BSc or MSc) and UK (BSc) students will gain opportunities to develop core transferable skills in data handling and manipulation techniques, plus experience of data collection during fieldwork and workshops. Further, Colombian students will gain international links that will benefit their career progressions.
(4) UK and Colombian general public. Many in the UK and Colombian wider general public are interested in or concerned about biodiversity conservation issues and climate change, and will benefit from the project's media engagement, as well as its capacity for wider public engagement in these issues, especially by bringing previously unheard community voices into the public discourse. Further, there is significant interest around birds, in terms of locations, records, and sound recordings.
Organisations
- University of Sheffield (Lead Research Organisation)
- Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute (Collaboration)
- University of Cundinamarca (Collaboration)
- University of La Sabana (Collaboration)
- Universidad Antonio Nariño (Collaboration)
- Pontifical Xavierian University (Collaboration)
- Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia (Collaboration)
- Instituto Alexander von Humboldt (Project Partner)
- Pontifical University Javeriana (Project Partner)
Publications
López-Bedoya P
(2023)
Knowledge of ground-dwelling beetle communities in the tropical Andes: Gaps and trends
in Austral Ecology
Mills S
(2023)
Avian biodiversity losses from grazing of high Andean páramo
in Biological Conservation
Edwards F
(2021)
Sparing land for secondary forest regeneration protects more tropical biodiversity than land sharing in cattle farming landscapes
in Current Biology
Sze JS
(2022)
Indigenous lands in protected areas have high forest integrity across the tropics.
in Current biology : CB
Mills S
(2022)
High sensitivity of tropical forest birds to deforestation at lower altitudes
in Ecology
Socolar J
(2022)
Biogeographic multi-species occupancy models for large-scale survey data
in Ecology and Evolution
Cosset CCP
(2020)
Mass-abundance scaling in avian communities is maintained after tropical selective logging.
in Ecology and evolution
Sæbø J
(2022)
Ignoring variation in wood density drives substantial bias in biomass estimates across spatial scales
in Environmental Research Letters
Sze JS
(2023)
Indigenous Peoples' Lands are critical for safeguarding vertebrate diversity across the tropics.
in Global change biology
López-Bedoya P
(2021)
What level of native beetle diversity can be supported by forestry plantations? A global synthesis
in Insect Conservation and Diversity
López-Bedoya P
(2022)
Impacts of pastures and forestry plantations on herpetofauna: A global meta-analysis
in Journal of Applied Ecology
González-Del-Pliego P
(2022)
Phylogeny and Morphology Determine Vulnerability to Global Warming in Pristimantis Frogs
in Land
Sze J
(2021)
Reduced deforestation and degradation in Indigenous Lands pan-tropically
in Nature Sustainability
Grima N
(2020)
Landslides in the Andes: Forests can provide cost-effective landslide regulation services.
in The Science of the total environment
| Title | Orchid Photobook |
| Description | A photobook produced by one of our Colombian researchers (EP-S), containing photos of the orchids we have been researching throughout this project. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The photobook was sent to two communities in the Paramo to help them identify different species of orchid. EP-S held an online workshop with these communities to teach them about orchid conservation, using the photobooks as learning aids |
| Title | PARAMO - Collection of Digital Stories |
| Description | A collection of approximately 200 digital stories, created by local residents, with the support of project members and researchers, about their lives of living, working and visiting the paramo and the values they attach to the paramo and their experiences. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | It is too early to say, but the stories are being shared by the storytellers and are helping raise awareness of our work amongst other organisations and local actors. |
| Description | NG et al. published a paper in which analysis found strong evidence that vegetated hillsides can provide a cost-effective ecosystem service approach to mitigate economic losses due to landslides in one of the world's most landslide prone areas. FE et al., found that increasing farm intensity on existing farmland can allow the abandonment of some farmland, allowing forest to regrow and enormously benefitting biodiversity. Mills et al. found that biodiversity at lower to mid elevations in the Andes are more threatened by land-use change than species at higher altitudes |
| Exploitation Route | The findings from all papers are now being presented to policymakers via our partners at the Humboldt Institute, and by our Project Integration Coordinator HA. The findings in Grima et al., have been incorporated into the Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy infrastructure strategy. The findings in FE et al., and Mills et al., are directly relevant to conservation NGOs in Colombia seeking more sustainable farming practices. The findings are also being presented at the ColombiaBio closing conference to partners, policymakers, and community leaders. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment |
| Description | The Colombian Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) has incorporated the findings from Grima et al., - that secondary forests can be important in reducing the biological consequences of farming (via secondary sparing), and can cost-effectively protect critical infrastructure - into their long-term infrastructure planning strategy. UPME have also been provided with, and will make use of, the raw data that produced these findings. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Research used by the Colombian Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) in their infrastructure strategy |
| Geographic Reach | South America |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Branching Out: New Routes to Valuing Urban Treescapes |
| Amount | £583,259 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/V021176/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2021 |
| End | 07/2024 |
| Description | Made Smarter Network+ |
| Amount | £3,887,200 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/W007231/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2021 |
| End | 12/2024 |
| Title | Biogeographic multispecies occupancy model (bMSOM) |
| Description | Hierarchical multispecies occupancy models partially-pool information across multiple species to improve inference about factors affecting occupancy as well as generating spatial predictions of species occurrence. While they were originally developed in the context of single or multisite datasets covering small spatial scales, they are increasingly applied across much larger regions that transcend major abiotic gradients and dispersal barriers. Incorporating spatial variation in occupancy is a significant problem in this context, due to the large number of species, each with varying spatial patterns of occupancy, and due to the difficulty in capturing some of these determinants of occupancy via environmental covariates. Our solution is to use pre-existing range information (in the form of range maps) to constrain occupancy to areas in which a species is known to exist and allow for generating spatial covariates such as distance to range margin. Specifically, range maps are used to crop out areas that are distant from a species range so that occupancy is treated as 0. Further, a covariate summarising range position allows for occupancy to drop off towards geographical range margins. The bMSOM generates dramatically better predictive performance than traditional MSOMs, while also reducing the computational overhead of fitting these models. It avoids the severe spatial biases in predictions that are generated by MSOMs and allows for principled species-specific inference, even for rarely or never-observed species. |
| Type Of Material | Biological samples |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The MS describing the method is currently available on bioArxiv, and associated code is on github. The manuscript that describes the method is in review at Ecology and Evolution, and there is currently one manuscript in prep. that makes use of this method. |
| URL | https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.05.467527v1 |
| Title | Dataset of Biodiversity and Carbon Plots |
| Description | Dataset of biodiversity and carbon plots, across elevations and habitat types. Biodiversity includes dung beetles, birds, and epiphytes. Across 270 points, spanning a range of elevations and habitat types (pasture, forest, paramo) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | -- |
| Title | Dung Beetle Morphological Traits |
| Description | Functional trait matrix of morphological traits of dung beetles collected from specimens from the collection deposited in the Humboldt, plus some additional specimens from the Humboldt collections for rarer species |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | -- |
| Title | Impacts of pastures and forestry plantations on herpetofauna: a global meta-analysis |
| Description | 1. The establishment of pastures and forestry plantations has increased globally to meet growing demands for meat and wood products. Pasture and plantation expansion often drives deforestation, which causes homogenization of biotic communities and is a major driver of the global extinction crisis. A core question is how the severity of losses varies between pastures and plantations, and in turn, how geographical location and plantation management characteristics moderate these impacts. 2. Focusing on herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) as the most endangered vertebrate group, we performed a global synthesis using 41 scientific articles that reported species richness or abundance in pastures and forestry plantations relative to natural forest in 191 case studies among 19 countries. 3. We found a severe negative effect of pasture and a less negative effect of forestry plantations on species richness and abundance of herpetofauna. Within plantations, species richness and total abundance were more negatively impacted in amphibians than reptiles, in the tropics, when planting exotic tree species, monocultures, large or commercial plantations, and when clearing understory vegetation. Yet mixed, old, small, or conservation plantations and those permitting recovery of understory vegetation had no negative impacts relative to the reference natural forest. 4. Synthesis and applications. The loss of herpetofauna species richness and abundance underscores the importance of halting ongoing tropical deforestation for pasture and intensive forestry plantations. The potential for appropriately managed forestry plantations to support biodiversity in regions lacking forest cover, including via replacement of anthropogenic pastures, suggests that such plantations have an important role under global reforestation agendas. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.qv9s4mwjd |
| Description | Sheffield-Humboldt Institute (IAVH) collaboration agreement |
| Organisation | Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | PI Edwards is the Sheffield lead of our collaboration with IAVH. We have identified locations of interest to IAVH where sampling is ongoing. We have deposited 1000's identified dung beetles in the IAVH collections. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 2019/20 Update: They have helped us select research locations, with permits for National Parks and elsewhere, import of project equipment, identification of suitable local assistants. 2020/21 Update: The Humboldt concluded facilitating lab work for Sheffield, analysing samples and then shipping them to Sheffield. |
| Impact | We have so far deposited 1000's identified dung beetles in the IAVH collections |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Universidad Antonio Narino - Omics Collaboration |
| Organisation | Universidad Antonio Nariño |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 2019/20 Update: A researcher from University of Antonio Narino will come to Sheffield for training in the use of 'Omics techniques. The research team held discussions with a Sheffield PI to refine their projects and to ensure it would benefit from the use of 'Omics techniques. The researcher will travel to Sheffield for training over the next year. Travel and accommodation will be covered by Sheffield, and they will be paid a living wage for the duration of their visit. 2020/21 Update: Researcher JVG from Universidad Antonio Narino developed their research questions and methodology with a Sheffield PI to ensure they are asking tractable questions, utilising suitable methodologies, and storing their samples appropriately. 2021/22 Update: Sheffield PIs are now working with JVG on the write-up of their results ahead of the March 31st deadline, with a view to producing publishable scientific papers. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 2019/20 Update: Our collaborators designed the initial research question, collected the required samples and provided a researcher to make the visit to conduct their training and execute the project. 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have adapted their research questions and methodologies in cooperation with Sheffield PIs. They are now conducting their research and extracting their samples, which will sent to Sheffield. Sheffield lab staff and PDRAs will then conduct the required laboratory analysis and bioinformatics, coupled with online training with the collaborating Colombian researchers. We will then facilitate the appropriate statistical analysis and write-up findings, including for publication where appropriate. 2021/22 Update: JVG is working with Sheffield PIs on corrections to a paper before submission for publication. |
| Impact | 2019/20 Update: None thus far. 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have gained a deep understanding of how to develop tractable research questions and to set up experiments and fieldwork in a way that ensures they are collecting high-quality samples with appropriate replication. Going forwards, they will be trained in the laboratory, bioinformatics, data handing and statistical analysis of the samples they have obtained. 2021/22: Our collaborators are working with Sheffield PIs on the final drafts of the papers they have produced from their research to ensure they are of publication quality. Our Omics collaborators attended and participated in a 5-week online Omics training course. The course consisted of lectures on the central dogma of omics technologies, included two weeks of practical exercises using open source software, and ended with presentations from our collaborators on the work they have been doing with the University of Sheffield |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Universidad Javeriana - Omics Collaboration |
| Organisation | Pontifical Xavierian University |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 2019/20 Update: A researcher from Universidad Javeriana will come to Sheffield for training in the use of 'Omics techniques. The research team held discussions with a Sheffield PI to refine their projects and to ensure it would benefit from the use of 'Omics techniques. The researcher will travel to Sheffield for training over the next year. Travel and accommodation will be covered by Sheffield, and they will be paid a living wage for the duration of their visit. 2020/21 Update: Researcher CLV developed their research questions and methodology with a Sheffield PI to ensure they are asking tractable questions, utilising suitable methodologies, and storing their samples appropriately. 2021/22: Our collaborators have undertaken a five-week online training course and are now working with Sheffield PIs on the final drafts of the papers they have produced from their research |
| Collaborator Contribution | 2019/20 Update: Our collaborators designed the initial research question, collected the required samples and provided a researcher to make the visit to conduct their training and execute the project. 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have adapted their research questions and methodologies in cooperation with Sheffield PIs. They are now conducting their research and extracting their samples, which will sent to Sheffield. Sheffield lab staff and PDRAs will then conduct the required laboratory analysis and bioinformatics, coupled with online training with the collaborating Colombian researchers. We will then facilitate the appropriate statistical analysis and write-up findings, including for publication where appropriate. 2021/22: Our collaborators have produced draft papers and are now working with Sheffield on their final drafts. |
| Impact | 2019/20 Update: None thus far. 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have gained a deep understanding of how to develop tractable research questions and to set up experiments and fieldwork in a way that ensures they are collecting high-quality samples with appropriate replication. Going forwards, they will be trained in the laboratory, bioinformatics, data handing and statistical analysis of the samples they have obtained. 2021/22: Our collaborators are working with Sheffield PIs on the final drafts of the papers they have produced from their research to ensure they are of publication quality. Our Omics collaborators attended and participated in a 5-week online Omics training course. The course consisted of lectures on the central dogma of omics technologies, included two weeks of practical exercises using open source software, and ended with presentations from our collaborators on the work they have been doing with the University of Sheffield |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia - Omics Collaboration |
| Organisation | Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 2019/20 Update: A researcher from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia will come to Sheffield for training in the use of 'Omics techniques. The research team held discussions with a Sheffield PI to refine their projects and to ensure it would benefit from the use of 'Omics techniques. The researcher will travel to Sheffield for training over the next year. Travel and accommodation will be covered by Sheffield, and they will be paid a living wage for the duration of their visit. 2020/21 Update: Researcher GCL developed their research questions and methodology with a Sheffield PI to ensure they are asking tractable questions, utilising suitable methodologies, and storing their samples appropriately 2021/22 Update: Our collaborators have undertaken a five-week online training course and are now working with Sheffield PIs on drafts of the papers they have produced from their research |
| Collaborator Contribution | 2019/20 Update: Our collaborators designed the initial research question, collected the required samples and provided a researcher to make the visit to conduct their training and execute the project 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have adapted their research questions and methodologies in cooperation with Sheffield PIs. They are now conducting their research and extracting their samples, which will sent to Sheffield. Sheffield lab staff and PDRAs will then conduct the required laboratory analysis and bioinformatics, coupled with online training with the collaborating Colombian researchers. We will then facilitate the appropriate statistical analysis and write-up findings, including for publication where appropriate. 2021/22: Our collaborators are working on draft papers in collaboration with Sheffield PIs |
| Impact | 2019/20 Update: None thus far 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have gained a deep understanding of how to develop tractable research questions and to set up experiments and fieldwork in a way that ensures they are collecting high-quality samples with appropriate replication. Going forwards, they will be trained in the laboratory, bioinformatics, data handing and statistical analysis of the samples they have obtained. 2021/22: Our collaborators are working with Sheffield PIs on the final drafts of the papers they have produced from their research to ensure they are of publication quality. Our Omics collaborators attended and participated in a 5-week online Omics training course. The course consisted of lectures on the central dogma of omics technologies, included two weeks of practical exercises using open source software, and ended with presentations from our collaborators on the work they have been doing with the University of Sheffield |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Universidad de Cundinamarca - Omics Collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Cundinamarca |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 2019/20 Update: Researchers from University of Cundinamarca will come to Sheffield for training in the use of 'Omics techniques. The research teams held discussions with a Sheffield PI to refine their projects and to ensure they would benefit from the use of 'Omics techniques. The researchers will travel to Sheffield for training over the next year. Travel and accommodation will be covered by Sheffield, and they will be paid a living wage for the duration of their visit. 2020/21 Update: Researcher NEE from University of Cundinamarca developed their research questions and methodology with a Sheffield PI to ensure they are asking tractable questions, utilising suitable methodologies, and storing their samples appropriately. 2021/22: Our collaborators have undertaken a five-week online training course and are now working with Sheffield PIs on drafts of the papers they have produced from their research |
| Collaborator Contribution | 2019/20 Update: Our collaborators designed the initial research question, collected the required samples and provided a researcher to make the visit to conduct their training and execute the project. 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have adapted their research questions and methodologies in cooperation with Sheffield PIs. They are now conducting their research and extracting their samples, which will sent to Sheffield. Sheffield lab staff and PDRAs will then conduct the required laboratory analysis and bioinformatics, coupled with online training with the collaborating Colombian researchers. We will then facilitate the appropriate statistical analysis and write-up findings, including for publication where appropriate. 2021/22: Our collaborators have produced draft papers and are now working with Sheffield on their final drafts. |
| Impact | 2019/20 Update: None thus far. 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have gained a deep understanding of how to develop tractable research questions and to set up experiments and fieldwork in a way that ensures they are collecting high-quality samples with appropriate replication. Going forwards, they will be trained in the laboratory, bioinformatics, data handing and statistical analysis of the samples they have obtained. 2021/22: Our collaborators are working with Sheffield PIs on the final drafts of the papers they have produced from their research to ensure they are of publication quality. Our Omics collaborators attended and participated in a 5-week online Omics training course. The course consisted of lectures on the central dogma of omics technologies, included two weeks of practical exercises using open source software, and ended with presentations from our collaborators on the work they have been doing with the University of Sheffield |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Universidad de la Sabana - Omics Collaboration |
| Organisation | University of La Sabana |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 2019/20 Update: A researcher from University of La Sabana will come to Sheffield for training in the use of 'Omics techniques. The research team held discussions with a Sheffield PI to refine their projects and to ensure it would benefit from the use of 'Omics techniques. The researcher will travel to Sheffield for training over the next year. Travel and accommodation will be covered by Sheffield, and they will be paid a living wage for the duration of their visit. 2020/21 Update: Researcher NESR developed their research questions and methodology with a Sheffield PI to ensure they are asking tractable questions, utilising suitable methodologies, and storing their samples appropriately. 2021/22: Our collaborators have undertaken a five-week online training course and are now working with Sheffield PIs on the final drafts of the papers they have produced from their research |
| Collaborator Contribution | 2019/20 Update: Our collaborators designed the initial research question, collected the required samples and provided a researcher to make the visit to conduct their training and execute the project 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have adapted their research questions and methodologies in cooperation with Sheffield PIs. They are now conducting their research and extracting their samples, which will sent to Sheffield. Sheffield lab staff and PDRAs will then conduct the required laboratory analysis and bioinformatics, coupled with online training with the collaborating Colombian researchers. We will then facilitate the appropriate statistical analysis and write-up findings, including for publication where appropriate. 2021/22: Our collaborators have produced draft papers and are now working with Sheffield on their final drafts. |
| Impact | 2019/20 Update: None thus far 2020/21 Update: Our collaborators have gained a deep understanding of how to develop tractable research questions and to set up experiments and fieldwork in a way that ensures they are collecting high-quality samples with appropriate replication. Going forwards, they will be trained in the laboratory, bioinformatics, data handing and statistical analysis of the samples they have obtained. 2021/22: 2021/22: Our collaborators are working with Sheffield PIs on the final drafts of the papers they have produced from their research to ensure they are of publication quality |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | 'Harnessing the potential of Storytelling in Sustainable Communication' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was an online workshop, run with Dr Marcus Bussey from the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia), as part of the MISTRA project, run by Swedish Centre for Research and Education on Learning for Sustainable Development at Uppsala University. The workshop was attended by participants from all over Sweden from a variety of backgrounds, including, researchers, businesses, policymakers and general public. This led to lively discussion and a new collaborative funding bid with SWEDESD. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | 'Storytelling and the Digital Revolution: How Technology Has Changed Our Narrative Selves And How It Has Not' - Public Lecture at Voronezh State University, Russia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a public lecture given online (due to COVID restrictions) through Voronezh State University and facilitated through the British Embassy in Moscow and the UK-Russia Cultural Bridge programme. In Voronezh there was a large audience of faculty and postgraduate students and elsewhere in Russia people joined from other universities and there was also a general public audience. The British Embassy provided simultaneous translation. There was a lively discussion afterwards and the talk was followed up the following week with a Diogital Storytelling workshop run by Dr Antonia Liguori (Loughborough) and Dr Philippa Rappoport (Smithsonian Institution). Voronezh University have proposed a future collaboration on a summer school and staff and student mobility. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | 'Storytelling with a Social Purpose, or how we are trying to change the world, one story at a time', Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An invited lecture/talk to the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, delivered online, due to COVID restrictions. It led to a lively discussion and set of questions with positive feedback from the Society's Committee. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | ColombiaBio "Paramonautas" Roadshow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A series of events held in villages and towns across Colombia with ties to the research carried out by the ColombiaBio projects. An interactive science roadshow presenting the findings of ColombiaBio projects to the general public, community leaders, and policymakers. Each event included interactive displays, bird and orchid guidebooks for attendees, a science club for school children, and posters and videos explaining the programme's key scientific findings for a range of audiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://facebook.com/Paramonautas-112756761309121/ |
| Description | ColombiaBio Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A series of newsletters sent to Colombian and UK projects, sharing updates on the progress of each NERC/AHRC and Colciencias-funded ColombiaBio project. The newsletters allow us to share news of published papers and findings, as well as enabling us to inform our partners of upcoming events organised by, or with the involvement of, individual projects |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | Connecting Through Storytelling In The Páramos |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The presentation took place as part of Encuentro Mundial Educar online conference and was made by Alma Solarte-Tobon and Angela Sharpe, Research Assistants at the Storytelling Academy at Loughborough University. It was conducted in Spanish to a broad online audience and was also available afterwards via YouTube. Around 50 people attended the presentation, plus additional numbers watched it online afterwards. It prompted a number of questions from the audience and a lively discussion. Presentation Abstract: Local communities are the guardians and bearers of their own cultural heritage & collective memory. In this session we will explore how connections were forged between scientific researchers and local communities through the use of digital storytelling. Also, looking forward to ensuring these digital stories are preserved for both the communities and researchers. The Storytelling Academy at Loughborough University is an interdisciplinary research team. Applied Storytelling has become our key research strength over the past five years. The work is invariably interdisciplinary, involving collaborations with the health, social and environmental sciences and both academic and non-academic partners, from local community organisations to large NGOs. We have worked throughout the UK, but also across Europe and countries across the world (Kenya, Uganda, India and Colombia). The focus of our presentation will be on our current work in Colombia on the research projects PARAMO and Paraguas. Both projects focus on research in the paramo region around Boyaca. Páramo are high-elevation grassland-peatland biomes of the tropical Andes. Unique, highly diverse, and important spiritual landscapes, they are found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru, covering a total area of 35,700km2. By collecting and sharing stories from the many Páramo actors, the projects hope to improve dialogue and mutual understanding and so help achieve "socio-natural resilience" and to help preserve and document local stories as part of a memory bank for all to share. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Digital Storytelling workshop on climate change organised with LU Arts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Digital Stories produced as part of the PARAMO, PARAGUAS, DRY projects were used to trigger conversations around environmental issues while students learned how to make a digital story, developing their technical, creative and curatorial skills. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.lborouniartsfestival.co.uk/digital-storytelling-climate-change/ |
| Description | GROW Colombia DS training in Bogota |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Journalists, policy makers and students were trained to apply digital storytelling in their field. Digital Stories produced during the PARAMO, PARAGUAS, DRY projects were used to talk about the methodology and address local and global environmental issues. The event was organised in collaboration with the Earlham Institute with the support of the British embassy in Colombia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | GROW Colombia Retreat in Norwich - 30 April-1May2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Team member Antonia Liguori presented on behalf of the Storytelling Academy the DS approach applied as part of the two research projects in Colombia (PARAGUAS and PARAMO). Around 30 international stakeholders involved in projects in Colombia had the opportunity to share ideas, expand their network and explore future potential collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Occupancy modelling with IAVH |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Training on incorporating species occupancy into conservation mapping prioritisation actions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Online Omics Training Course |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A five-week online training course covering the "central dogma" behind omics technologies. The course included lectures on genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics, as well as two weeks of practical exercises, delivered by University of Sheffield academics. The final session included presentations from our Colombian omics collaborators, and a question and answer session with Sheffield academics. All content was translated into Spanish. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Orchid Conservation Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | One of our Colombian researchers ran an online workshop for two communities in the Paramo, focused on identification and conservation of orchids. Alongside the workshop, our researcher produced and distributed a photobook to help members of the local community to identify different species of orchid. The workshop was attended by members of the local community, including schoolchildren |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | PARAMO Closing Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A one-day workshop for PARAMO team members. The purpose of the workshop was to review the project's research findings, to discuss the policy implications of those findings, and to discuss potential future research directions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Paramo Integration Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | One-day academic workshop attended by all five UK PIs, along with key members of their teams. The focus of the workshop was the development of strategies for project integration and impact. Each project provided an update on their progress, and on the partnerships they are developing with Colombian institutions. Discussions on impact focused on public engagement activities, with an emphasis on the need for cultural sensitivity when disseminating results and findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Paramo Integration Workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A weeklong series of workshops attended by all five UK PIs, along with key members of their teams, and a number of our Colombian partners. Agreed the methodology for the measurement of impact, developed plans for an interactive science roadshow at the end of the project, and established a number of working groups |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Paramo Writing Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A week-long workshop for Sheffield and Loughborough post-docs, discussing analysis of data and ideas for publication. The first day covered progress updates on biodiversity and storytelling data collection. The remainder of the week focused on small group-writing and discussion sessions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation at the MeCCSA Conference 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Project team member Antonia Liguori gave a paper on behalf of Mike Wilson, Lindsey McEwen and the DRY consortium. The presentation was about 'Co-designing an online Utility Tool to bridge science and community knowledge through storytelling', but included an overview on a variety of storytelling approaches applied in 3 main projects addressing environmental issues (PARAMO, PARAGUAS, DRY). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.meccsabrighton2020.co.uk/ |
| Description | UPME training |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 5-10 people engaged in activities on further linking our work into UPME systems |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |