The role of social networks in agroecoABSYSs diversification and their adaptation to global change

This mobility proposition aims at:

i. first, strengthening the capacities of the YS to implement the above described research project through building international partnerships, gaining in international visibility through academic publication, and reinforcing her background concerning the study of local knowledge;
ii. second, establishing links between GREEN research unit and LASEG that both conduct research on social-ecological systems trajectories, but with different perspectives and approaches. The mobility would thus foster exchanges between LASEG and GREEN concerning two interrelated topics: i. monitoring the effect of climate change on agroecosystems – as social-ecological systems where agriculture is the main activity, and ii. characterizing the social processes involved in their resilience, based on the study of local knowledge systems.
iii. third, disseminating results from the collaboration between the YS and the LASEG in Madagascar, to develop research on this topic in the frame of the CIRAD partnership platform (DP) “Forest and Biodiversity”. Madagascar is highly concerned by climate change, being among the most exposed countries with the highest climatic risk index.

The mobility of the YS is planned to take place at the LASEG because the expertise of this research group is internationally acknowledged concerning the study of:
i. the consequences of global change on rural populations’ livelihoods, local knowledge, and natural resource management, and
ii. their local adaptation strategies. This laboratory especially produced a large body of research on local environmental knowledge and social interaction networks in rural societies in Africa, South-America and Asia

During her stay in LASEG, the YS will especially interact with Victoria Reyes-García, whose work on local environmental knowledge is internationally acknowledged. She is currently leading an ERC project on local indicators of climate change (LICCI), which offers to the YS an opportunity to strengthen her capacities and gain in international visibility on this topic. The YS will also interact with Esteve Corbera, who study environmental policies and their impact on the livelihoods in the global South. The experience, knowledge and large scientific network of Victoria Reyes-García and Esteve Corbera makes them the right persons to support the YS in her capacity-building process.
In this context, the scientific mobility at LASEG would offer to the YS a unique opportunity to strengthen her capacity to implement her research project through:
i. building an international partnership network, as LICCI will involve a large network of scientists working on local knowledge and adaptation to climate change
ii. gaining in international visibility through academic publication, and
iii. consolidating her conceptual and methodological background to document local environmental knowledge concerning biodiversity in agroecosystems in general, and specifically regarding climate change.

Then, a mobility at Madagascar will allow her to disseminate the results from collaboration with LASEG to partners in local research institutes (University of Antananarivo), and to test the methodology developed with LASEG.

 To reach these objectives a scientific mobility of three months (4 X 3 weeks) at the LASEG, at the Institut de Ciència i Technologia Ambiantales of the Universitàt Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain) is intended, and a mobility of 2 weeks at the DP “Forest and Biodiversity”.