Forest restoration by smallholders in the Eastern Amazon: how to improve the balance between environmental and socioeconomic benefits?

This project will establish a learning-practice network of leading reforestation practitioners and researchers on the theme of forest restoration by smallholders in the Eastern Amazon, to support policy delivery and restoration actions at large scale.
The main scientific objectives are to:
i) identify, through a collaborative multi-stakeholder process, what are the key factors that motivate or limit smallholders to engage in forest restoration,
ii) to assess the enabling conditions necessary to balance the provision of both environmental services and social and economic benefits to support the practical implementation of policies

This project aims to bring three original contributions on forest restoration:

1/ It will provide a broad interdisciplinary perspective on a topic that has traditionally been dealt with by separate research communities, mobilizing ecologists, agronomists and social scientists to study together the ecological and social trade-offs of agroforests.

2/ It will address the specificities of family farmers regarding forest restoration, to assess the potential contributions to and relevance for family farmers of restoration, but also understand their own opinions on restoration and compliance with the Forest Code by understanding their motivations and the place of restoration in their production system.

3/ By adopting a multi-stakeholder perspective, the project will facilitate knowledge exchange between research and technical and development institutions, in order to discuss the policy implications of restoration.

A role playing game, co-constructed with the various stakeholders, will enable to explore different restoration models and landscape patterns, as well as to discuss which actions and policies would be most supportive.