PROJECTS
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Valuing Sustainability

The Valuing Sustainability Future Science Platform at CSIRO recognises that developing the next generation of sustainability measures and indicators requires more than just excellent science. It requires a multiple-evidence based approach that co-designs and co-develops science and technology that underpin rigorous measures and can be used in the field for diverse management contexts, and integrated at different scales. The Platform works with diverse groups in regional communities, across industries and supply chains, to co-develop and test measures of sustainability which reflect real and desirable outcomes and can guide investment and innovation for ongoing improvement.

​Partners: CSIRO

Smart Forests

The Smart Forests project investigates the social-political impacts of digital technologies that monitor and govern forest environments. Funded through a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant, this project addresses the crucial question of how forests are becoming “smart” through the increasing use of digital technologies to manage these environments.  The SmartForests project is led by Professor Jennifer Gabrys and is part of the Planetary Praxis research group based in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge.

Partner: The University of Cambridge 

Governance of Forest Landscape Restoration in the Amazon

This research examines how multiple stakeholders manage multi-scalar relations of governance and institutional systems for landscape restoration in the Brazilian Amazon in order to explore how performance and outcomes are socially and geographically embedded in power dynamics. This study demonstrates these processes across the diverse roles of governments, the private sector, communities, and individuals, through the application of global production networks, feminist political ecology, and forest landscape restoration frameworks to debate environmental governance issues. As an empirical representation, this research focuses on case studies in the Upper Xingu region of the southeastern Amazon.

Partners: The University of Sydney, Instituto Socioambiental and Xingu Seed Network.

Indigenous Australian Participation in Mine Site Restoration

Mining activities often cause displacement and disruption of Indigenous socio-cultural relations to land, water, biodiversity, and sacred entities. Activating participatory restoration supply chains to eliminate injustices requires the transformation of the power inequalities to flourish Indigenous Australian rights to self-determination. In this research, we examine critical mine restoration injustices and how Indigenous Australian participation can energize environmental self-determination. We analyze emerging restoration supply chains through the native seed collection and production activities as opportunities for nurturing transformative local collaborations, Indigenous entrepreneurship, and political participation.
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Partners: Center for Mine Site Restoration, Curtin University.

Community-led forest restoration practices

Local communities have been frequently neglected in planning and implementing landscape restoration actions. In Brazil, several community-based systems have been established from the bottom up to advance techniques and practices to scale up native seed availability and co-produce place-specific restoration projects. Community networks are responsible for linking communities who have harvested, processed, and stored seed to the restoration market. In this study, we examine how community-led systems mobilize local capabilities and technical approaches to implement restoration actions and transform political decisions across scales.
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Partners: Xingu Seed Network, Cerrado Seed Network, Portal Network, Mata Atlantica Seed Network, Arboretum Program

Youth4Nature

Connecting young people to climate decision-making processes is not only an advocacy opportunity, but it is also a valuable mechanism to strengthen the implementation of intergenerational solutions to mitigate and adapt environmental changes from the bottom up. Our goal is to elevate youth voices to gain power in climate politics and recognize the role of nature in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. We develop a storytelling platform to exchange experiences and promote young people participation in high-level meetings.
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Partners: Youth4Nature

Seed Policies in Brazil

A vast network of informal native seed collectors and producers are largely “invisible” and unknown to the regulatory authorities in Brazil. Policies have decentralized responsibilities from the state without devolving decision-making power to the multiple stakeholders engaged in the seed sector. We promote debates and forums to analyze seed regulations in Brazil and suggest adaptations to formal institutions according to place-specific contexts of diverse seed collectors and producers. We organize courses, symposiums, and conferences to formulate instruments to enhance plant material sources and community participation. 
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Partner: Brazil's Forest Seed Committee

Y Ikatu Xingu campaign

​The Y Ikatu Xingu Campaign ("Save the Good Water of Xingu") supports the mobilization of diverse stakeholders to promote restoration of degraded riparian areas in the Upper Xingu, southeastern Amazonia. The campaign implements land restoration through manual and mechanized direct seeding using a mix of seeds of diverse native species. Our goal is to promote socio-political incentives and technical approaches to recover more than 300 thousand hectares of degraded lands in the Upper Xingu region. These land-use interventions have been responsible for reducing the costs of restoration projects and improving the regional environmental conditions and resilience aligned with community livelihood enhancements on the ground.
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Partner: Instituto Socioambiental