Descrizione del progetto
Esaminare le pratiche sostenibili di gestione territoriale e forestale nella regione agricola dell’Africa occidentale
La deforestazione provocata dall’agricoltura lascia lungo la sua scia ristrette aree di foresta tropicale, principalmente nella zona dell’Africa occidentale. Alcuni studi rivelano che tali porzioni di foresta ospitano variegate comunità di piante e specie native, svolgono funzioni ecologiche fondamentali e hanno un ruolo importante per la sussistenza delle popolazioni locali. Poiché la degradazione del territorio non si ferma, la tutela di queste aree forestali assume un’importanza cruciale. Il progetto SUSTAINFORESTS, finanziato dall’UE, analizzerà i ruoli interattivi di tali zone forestali nei panorami agricoli delle foreste tropicali e della savana in Togo, Benin, Nigeria e Camerun. Il progetto aprirà inoltre nuovi percorsi di ricerca per incoraggiare l’istituzione di prassi di gestione forestale e territoriale più sostenibili.
Obiettivo
Tropical forest patches in agricultural landscapes are largely the survivors of a hard-to-reverse deforestation process. Yet, these patches, which are spread over West Africa, still provide crucial ecological functions, serve as habitats for biodiversity, contribute globally to carbon sinks, and are important for the livelihoods of local populations. Given their persistent degradation, identifying pathways to safeguard or even increase their contribution to ecological function and thus to sustainable development is crucial. While existing theories of agricultural expansion, intensification, and forest transition explain agriculture-induced deforestation well, they do not explain the persistence of forest patches in a context of agricultural expansion. Little or no research has analysed forest patches in the highly fragmented agricultural landscapes of the rainforest and savannah zones of West Africa. This project will analyse the interactive roles of forest patches in the agricultural landscapes of these zones in Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon. In addition, it will investigate conditions under which various biophysical, socio-cultural, economic, and institutional factors, including decision-making and land users’ behaviour and interests, interact with and affect forest patches and their sustainable use, management, and governance. Focussing on forest patches in West Africa thus closes theoretical and empirical gaps. The project will apply an iterative landscape- and people-centred approach that integrates data from remote sensing, social surveys, and participatory modelling. It will employ content analysis, multivariate statistics, and spatial analysis methods. Results will clarify the theories underpinning forest patches and open new research avenues in the sustainability sciences. Insights gained from the project will inform and trigger region-wide efforts to preserve forest patches and help initiate transformative actions on sustainable land and forest management.
Campo scientifico
- social sciencessociologygovernance
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencessustainability sciences
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestrysilviculture
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringremote sensing
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantIstituzione ospitante
3012 Bern
Svizzera