Research outreach
"Science isn't finished until is communicated" (Mark Walport; UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser) - I have never forgotten this!!!
During the NERC-funded AFIRE project (2016-18), I lived and worked for 12 months in the Tapajós National Forest (FLONA-Tapajós) - which is a protected area for Sustainable Use in the Brazilian Amazon managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) under the Brazilian Environmental Ministry. FLONA-Tapajos houses many Indigenous (Munduruku people) within the Indigenous Territory Munduruku, as well as Traditional riverside communities ('ribeirinhos').
Through contact with park managers, local communities and landowners, I learned that knowledge exchange between researchers and end-users needs to happen before, during and after the research development. I also was taught in practice that the commonly used scientific language can be a barrier even when speaking the same idiom. Sometimes, we need to see our research with "other eyes" to be able to answer some simple questions from locals such as "Why is this (organism/process/species) so important?", "Why should I care?", "How can I apply this knowledge in my life?".
Establishing strong partnerships with local communities and decision-makers is the key, and I feel happy and proud of the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, the strengthening of relationships that have been created and developed in the Santarém region.
So far, the experiences I had as an early career researcher made me consider that scientific communication is a considerable responsibility of modern scientists, as this should in part help leverage political initiatives and increase public awareness. As such, I have placed an effort to ensure that all my publications and research topics are presented to the general public using infographics, blogs, press releases and booklets, talking to interested reporters, as well as through presentations for academics, decision-makers, and other end-users. Below, I provide some examples of scientific communication I was involved.
- Selected blogs, news and media outlets:
BBC News Brasil (2020): O projeto rodoviário que ameaça uma das áreas mais conservadas da Amazônia
The Conversation (2020): Dung beetles help rainforests regrow – but extreme drought and wildfires in the Amazon are killing them off
Fox News (2020): Earth's most biodiverse ecosystems face 'collapse,' new study claims
Mongabay (2020): Extreme El Niño drought, fires contribute to Amazon insect collapse: Study (translation to Portuguese available here)
Deutsche Welle (2020): Pesquisa aponta redução drástica de besouros na Amazônia; re-published by G1-Natureza (Portuguese)
Daily Mail (2020): 'Perfect storm' of heatwaves, hurricanes and floods caused by climate change is causing a collapse in biodiversity across the tropics, study warns
O Tempo (2020): Incêndios contribuíram para o colapso de besouros
Forbes (2019): Brazilian Researchers Defy the Government to Reveal the truth about Amazon fires
Mongabay (2017): Selective logging reduces biodiversity, disrupts Amazon ecosystems
Lancaster University (2017): Reduced impact logging still harms biodiversity in tropical rainforests
UFLA (2017): O corte-seletivo de baixo impacto pode ameaçar a biodiversidade de florestas tropicais (Portuguese)
Noticias de la Ciência (2017): La tala de impacto reducido aun dana la biodiversidad en los bosques lluviosos tropicales (Spanish)
Green area Mexico (2017): La tala aún daña la biodiversidad en los bosques (Spanish)
The applied ecologist's blog (2016): We may be underestimating the negative impacts of logging on the biodiversity of tropical forests
Agrosoft (2016): Pesquisa revela que perdas na biodiversidade tropical podem estar subestimadas (Portuguese)
Informing the forest management
Photo taken during the II Seminar of the Tapajós National Forest and I Seminar of the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve, an event co-organized by ICMBio and RAS in Santarém. There I presented about strategies to improve forest management sustainability in the Amazon (Dez/2017)
Meeting with Indigneous leaders
Photo taken after a meeting to discuss te research being carried within FLONA-Tapajós indiginous lands. There were representatives of National Institute of Amazon Researchers (INPA), the Brazilian National Indian Foundation (FUNAI ), Indigenous leaders and community members (Apr/2017).
Scientific communication
Dissemination activity during the agricultural fair in Santarém. During four days, I presented the research outcomes from RAS Network (Rede Amazônia Sustentável) regarding the impacts of human-activities and post-disturbance recovery in tropical forests for highschool and undergraduate students (Ago/2016).
2. Interacting with end-users through
meetings with local stakeholders, indigenous leaders and communities for discussing our research project;
preparing a stand for scientific communication in the larger Agricultural Fair in the Santarém region;
scientific advice for the Management Plan of FLONA-Tapajós;
co-organising with ICMBio a Seminar for both academic and non-academic audience, including practitioners, loggers, decision-makers and researchers from Brazilian and international institutions.
If you are interested on this topic, have a look on the other photos from those activities by clicking here!! :-D
3. Video-presentations
Logging impacts on tropical forest beetles for the SwB UK Challenge 2016 (English)
Dung beetle ecological functions in Amazonian Human-Modified Forests (Portuguese)
4. Booklet
Conhecendo a vido do Solo: Macrofauna (In Portuguese)
5. Infographics and summary of results
Engaging with research end-users
Every scientific dissemination activity I have collaborated on has a good history. Developing long-term research within Indigenous lands and multiple private properties in the Brazilian Amazon means that you will need to spend a considerable amount of your time visiting, eating tapioca and drinking coffee while discussing results with landowners and local communities. Photos below provide you with a glance at what I have contributed to the Santarém region.
This event was co-organized by RAS and ICMBIO. There were representants from the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), Sustainable Amazon Network (SAN), Embrapa, Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, the local logging cooperative and professors from Western Pará Federal University (UFOPA) - Santarém (Dec/17).
My talk was about alternatives to reduce the ecological consequences from logging on Amazonian forests, including recommendations focused on improving the management sustainability and avoiding illegal logging within conservation units - Santarém (Dec/17).
I co-organised an exhibition during the regional agricultural fair. During four days, we promoted scientific-interactive games and made presentations for local farmers, their families, and students from local secondary schools and universities- Santarém (Aug/16).
This was the 1st time I represented our research group in a meeting with the Munduruku leaders, the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) - Brazilian government body responsible for policies related to indigenous peoples, and the National Research for Amazonian Research (INPA) - FLONA-Tapajós (Mar/17).
There were many moments I needed to have a break from fieldwork (see Jungle Fun) to discuss about the fieldwork methodologies for our research. In this meeting, I also discussed the dates when other RAS-researchers would make a presentation in each village - Takuara indigenous community (Abr/17)
Here, I am presenting our research methodologies and results for each of the surveyed groups (plants, beetles and birds).
Marituba indigenous village (May/17)