Voices of Amazonia: knowledge co-production to enhance environmental policy and practices

‘Voices of Amazonia’ aims to consolidate and extend a network among researchers, policy-makers, and decision-makers in the Brazilian Amazon through prior/ongoing collaborations. Our overarching goal is to bridge the research-action gap in conservation sciences (Toomey et al 2016), by addressing two questions: [1] ‘What are the key questions for different stakeholders involved in biodiversity conservation in the Brazilian Amazon?’ and [2] ‘How can we better mobilize current scientific evidence to address these questions and inform conservation policy and practices?’ To achieve this and create a space for knowledge co-production, we will [i] organise a 3-day workshop with 15 scientists and stakeholders in Belém, Brazil. During this workshop, we will [ii] interpret preliminary results from focus groups with stakeholders, thereby co-producing a list of priority questions, and [iii] co-design two additional deliverables (besides the workshop itself): a [a] briefing note co-authored by all stakeholders and outlining key recommendations for future environmental research, policy and practices; and [b] grant application focused on addressing key stakeholder-relevant questions related to Amazonia’s conservation challenges.

‘Voices of Amazonia’ is funded by the ‘2023 Cabot Institute Seedcorn Fund’