Forest citizenship for disaster resilience: learning from COVID-19
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Lancaster Environment Centre
Abstract
Citizenship from below, a process through which marginalized peoples self-organize to create citizenship through claiming recognition and rights, is crucial to disaster recovery, resilience, and societal renewal and reportedly being drawn upon in responses to COVID-19. Brazilian Amazonia provides an arena to examine how marginalized people---disproportionately affected by COVID-19---are using citizenship to mitigate the pandemic's negative societal effects, supporting a bounce forward to greater resilience in the post-pandemic world. Amazonians engage in forest citizenship, which we define as struggles for recognition from different institutions, enabling claiming of rights from those institutions (e.g. territorial rights). We see COVID-19 as a rupture that forest citizenship can respond positively to, delivering societal renewal through improved democratic governance and political participation. FORTE assembles a multi-disciplinary team to understand and enhance forest peoples' collective action and transformational change in strengthening disaster resilience. We will advance empirical and theoretical understandings of forest citizenship---placing approaches to citizenship and resilience from Brazil, the US, and UK into dialogue---through a Trans-Atlantic research network supporting on-the-ground improvements in disaster resilience.
Our objectives are:
(1) quantify linkages between forest citizenship and COVID-19 resilience;
(2) understand practices of forest citizenship in relation to COVID-19 experiences;
(3) understand and disseminate learning on conditions for promoting forest citizenship and enhancing disaster resilience across Amazonia.
We address these through three interlinked Work Packages (WPs): quantitative analysis of secondary health, governance and environmental data (entire Brazilian Amazon) (WP1), qualitative fieldwork in selected municipalities in Amazonas and Acre State (WP2), and action-research (WP3). Our research is based in an interdisciplinary and non-hierarchical 'team science,' which includes diverse voices, kinds of knowledge and value systems (including those of forest peoples), leading to better outcomes. Our ambition is for the project's legacy to be a Brazilian Amazonian society which is more equal, inclusive and resilient.
Our objectives are:
(1) quantify linkages between forest citizenship and COVID-19 resilience;
(2) understand practices of forest citizenship in relation to COVID-19 experiences;
(3) understand and disseminate learning on conditions for promoting forest citizenship and enhancing disaster resilience across Amazonia.
We address these through three interlinked Work Packages (WPs): quantitative analysis of secondary health, governance and environmental data (entire Brazilian Amazon) (WP1), qualitative fieldwork in selected municipalities in Amazonas and Acre State (WP2), and action-research (WP3). Our research is based in an interdisciplinary and non-hierarchical 'team science,' which includes diverse voices, kinds of knowledge and value systems (including those of forest peoples), leading to better outcomes. Our ambition is for the project's legacy to be a Brazilian Amazonian society which is more equal, inclusive and resilient.
| Description | Partnership with INEAF (Family Agriculture Institute) at UFPA, Brazil |
| Organisation | Federal University of Pará |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fraser and Parry have developed and consolidated a partnership with this research and teaching institute at the Federal University of Para. We travelled there (and gave talks) once each in 2022, met collaborators in the SE of Brazil, and made future plans for co-supervision of postgrad students, and joint fieldwork. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They hosted us for talks, provided resources to take PG students to the field. |
| Impact | Talks, research plans, PhD plans |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Meeting on forest citizenship at UFPA Belem |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Led by co-I Dr James Fraser, this workshop was the at the Family Agriculture Institute (INEAF) at the Federal University of Para, Brazil. Designed to foster project links with colleagues there, plus other participants from Federal University of Amazonas, and Federal Institute of Amazonas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Meeting with members of RURAS group in UFSCAR |
| 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 | Meeting members of the research group on rural societies at environments at the Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil, as a means of developing future collaborations, co-supervision, etc. https://www.ruras.ufscar.br/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation at FLARE forest livelihoods conference in Rome |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presented in the session on COVID-19 impacts at this forest livelihoods conference. The purpose was to disseminate information around our new project and share preliminary results. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research talk to students at INEAF-UFPA, Belem |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presenting L Parry's work on wildmeat consumption and child health to this group of Amazonian students with interest in social justice and environmental change |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Second visit to UFSCar, with James Fraser |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Second meeting by project PI and Co-I Fraser to meet collaborators in Sociology Department at UFSCAR university, Brazil. Plus participation from colleagues from USP (Natalia Ribeiro) and UFPA (Mauricio Torres) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Visit to Lancaster by Gabriela di Giullio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hosting Dra Profa Gabriela di Giullio from USP (Brazil) at Lancaster in order to consolidate our collaboration. She presented to diverse members of the Lancaster Environment Centre,. http://www.iea.usp.br/pessoas/pasta-pessoag/gabriela-di-giulio |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |