Climate change and the Amazonian ecosystems - towards a new understanding

Group of Brazilian and UK researchers in a field day in a traditional Amazonian community (Quilombola) during the workshop led by Dr Penfield and Dr Nobrega, funded by the British Council (July 2024). Other researchers from Bristol in the photo are Dr Jaskiran Kochan, Dr Shirley Famelli, and Dr Rayane Pacheco.

19 September 2024

Researchers from the University of Bristol are spearheading new efforts to understand the impacts of climate change on the Brazilian Amazon and its Indigenous and traditional communities.

The Brazilian Amazon is home to thousands of Indigenous and traditional communities; many of these rely for their livelihoods on the biodiversity of the region and its numerous ecosystems. The ways of life of these communities are threatened, both directly and indirectly, by climate change: for example, on-going record-breaking flooding or drought events poses great risks to riverside communities or those who depend on river-based transportation, and fishing might become even more limited after repeated droughts.

Multidisciplinary team

Researchers from the University of Bristol, Dr Rodolfo Nobrega from the School of Geographical Sciences and Dr Filipe França from the School of Biological Sciences, have established a multidisciplinary team which will work to understand and address the issues caused by climate change on these communities. The work was initiated with funding from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Rapid Research Funding Call and supported by the Knowledge Mobilization Research Grant from the Trent University, Canada.

“Our work involves researchers from the UK, Canada, Germany, Brazil and USA,” said Dr Nobrega, “and includes experts from different disciplines, including areas such as health, human, social, environmental and climate sciences. We’re also collaborating with local stakeholders such as NGOs and representative from Indigenous communities.”

Three tranches

Initially, the funded work was split into three tranches:

1) An investigation into the climate vulnerability of Indigenous territories and protected areas to prioritise particularly vulnerable regions

2) Assessment of the socio-economic climate burden on local communities and forests

3) Co-development of solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation with local partners and communities

Workshops and focus groups

A 4-day workshop took place in July 2023 at Trent University, in Ontario, Canada, and included delegates from the UK, Brazil, Canada, Germany, and the USA.

“As well as the interdisciplinary workshop in Canada,” explained Dr Nobrega, “we also conducted numerous focus group meetings in the Amazon rainforest itself. These activities were also supported by the SynPAm project funded by PolicyBristol, and included a multidisciplinary team of experts and community representatives, and addressed the impacts of climate change on human and ecosystem health in Indigenous and local communities and territories across three regions in the Brazilian Amazon”.

The ideas and perspectives that the team gathered during the project were published a joint statement in the scientific journal Communications Earth & Environment, and supported a publication in Current Biology. These outcomes have been instrumental in securing a pivotal shift in funding for Amazon research. Recently, for example, the Amazon +10 initiative introduced a prerequisite for including leading local research institutions and members of traditional communities in research proposals for their funding calls.

Statement of intent

“In the statement, we emphasised the need to protect the intricate web of life in Amazonia with research across disciplines, and collaborations across sectors,” said Dr Nobrega. “We must prioritise the needs, perspectives, and insights of Indigenous and other traditional peoples - these communities are at the forefront of efforts to safeguard their wellbeing and territories, and it is vital to include Indigenous researchers and members of local communities as central contributors to the research team.”

Proposals and publications

The team’s work has resulted in numerous research proposal submissions that aim to contribute to a broader understanding of ecological dynamics in Amazonia and its Indigenous communities.

“We have submitted several project proposals motived by the network and discussions generated by our work”, said Dr Nobrega. “We have been awarded funding by the British Council for a workshop on Integrated Perspectives on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Amazonia past July, which integrated over 40 researchers from UK and various Amazonian regions and communities”. The workshop was organised by Dr Amy Penfield from the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology (School of Arts) and Dr Nobrega, Dr França and scholars that work in the Amazon, namely Dr Sabina Ribeiro, Dr Cátia Macedo, and Dr Maurício Costa. The consortium has also been awarded with grants in Bristol (NERC FLF for Dr França in the School of Life Sciences, ERC Starting Grant and for Dr Penfield, Daphne Jackson Fellowship for Dr Shirley Famelli), and they are currently awaiting feedback on further proposals from NERC, the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council, and New Frontiers in Research Fund (Canada).

“Seedcorn funds such as this from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute are extremely useful to create momentum needed to put researchers with similar interests together to generate workable hypotheses and data; I’m very grateful for the support from the EBI. This opportunity enabled us to promote activities crucial for supporting the establishment of an international consortium focused on the socio-ecological diversity of the Brazilian Amazon.”