Funding for Dutch-Brazilian consortia in Cerrado research

Biodiversity in the Brazilian Cerrado, a giant savanna in central Brazil, is under pressure due to increasing deforestation for agricultural production. This challenge calls for scenarios and practical solutions that safeguard agricultural production in the Cerrado, protect and promote biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. Four consortia are receiving funding from the Dutch Research Agenda and the Brazilian research council CNPq for research into this comprehensive challenge.  One of the consortia receiving funding is led by Dr Judith Verstegen, a Geo-Information Scientist at the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning. “One of our department’s strengths is that we have researchers covering the entire spectrum, from qualitative to quantitative researchers. We have jointly made this a key focus for this call by employing methods ranging from social cartography to spatial optimisation.”

Sustainable land use in Matopiba

Verstegen’s project  “Frontiers of Matopiba Landscapes” examines how agricultural production and biodiversity conservation in the Brazilian region of Matopiba can be balanced under future climate and socio-economic conditions. There has been a great deal of research into the Amazon region, but the Cerrado (Brazilian savannah) has been neglected. “Yet it is precisely there that significant land-use change is taking place, and this area also boasts a high level of biodiversity,” explains Verstegen. “It is therefore good that NWO and CNPq are focusing on this.”

Trade-offs

In a co-creation approach, the project works with different groups of local stakeholders (e.g., Indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers) to understand what productive agriculture and healthy biodiversity mean in the context of their livelihoods. Based on their input, the project identifies land-use configurations that reveal trade-offs and synergies between agricultural production and biodiversity using spatial optimization. The results will support evidence-based decisions to form sustainable, just, climate-resilient land use strategies that protect biodiversity, food security, and local livelihoods. “Everyone knows that there are trade-offs between agricultural production and biodiversity, but if you don’t know how significant those trade-offs are and how to organise land use so that they are minimised, there is no basis for decision-making.”

Dutch Research Agenda

The Dutch Research Agenda is part of NWO (the Dutch Research Council) and focuses on developing knowledge in collaboration between governments, researchers, civil society organizations, and citizens. For more information on the other projects see the NWO news item NWA funding for Dutch-Brazilian consortia in Cerrado research.