Building Collaborative Networks in LUCC Case Studies in Acre, Brazil
Carlos
Valerio A.
Gomes, Department of Geography/University of Florida, SETEM/UFAC, valerio@ufl.edu
(Presenting)
Thomas
Ludewigs, School of Public and Environmental Affairs/Indiana University, tludewig@indiana.edu
Jacqueline
M.
Vadjunec, Graduate School of Geography/Clark University, jvadjunec@clarku.edu
(Presenting)
Environmental issues facing society today often require deeper ways of understanding. Land-use cover-change processes such as tropical deforestation and its direct effects on livelihoods warrant attention from the international research community. The question arises as to how we are to understand such changes, their causes and drivers, as they are multi-temporal and multi-scalar. To meet these challenges, many programs such as the LBA, IGBP, IHDP and HDGEC have pressed for the collaborative and synergistic study of the human dimensions of land-use land-cover change. Although these programs have gained the respect of the international research community, they continue to provoke frustration among many scientists, who strive to apply theoretical knowledge to development issues. This poster presents the collaborative story, benefits and challenges of three doctoral students currently engaged in fieldwork in Acre, Brazil, representing two countries and three different universities. Our common objective is to understand the LUCC dynamics in two types of government sponsored tenure regimes: one extractive reserve and one colonization project and their implications on regional development. By integrating our research, we are able to contextualize the processes occurring within both our individual study areas and a larger framework. We depart from the current ‘big science’ paradigm and press for such understanding as a means, not an end, in dealing with social and environmental issues. Through collaboration, not only can we reach the deeper understanding called for by LUCC, but we can increase efficiency, resulting in more time for capacity building and the transmission of relevant information to local institutions involved in the development process.