Sustainable Agriculture in Tropical Forest Landscapes (2014)

Contact full name: 
Lini Wollenberg
Additional Faculty Advisor(s) and Department(s): 
Peter Newton, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, SNRE
Project Status: 
Project in Progress
Year project was Completed: 
2014
Client Organization: 
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
Client Website: 
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
Client is confirmed: 
yes
SNRE Faculty Advisor: 
Arun Agrawal
Advisor Confirmed: 
yes
Additional Faculty Advisor(s) Confirmed: 
yes
Master Students Involved in Project: 
  • Ben Chen, MBA/MS Sustainable Systems
  • Hsuan-wen "Ann" Kuo, MS Conservation Ecology
  • Chanisa Niljinda, Environmental Policy and Planning 
  • Melisa Ongun, MS Sustainable Systems
  • Paul Winters, MLA/MS Environmental Policy and Planning
City: 
Burlington
Contact Phone: 
+1 802 656 9891
State or Country: 
VT
Contact e-mail: 
ewollenb@uvm.edu
Contact information: 
I am a staff member of a potential client organization
If Other: 
UM Project Contact: Peter Newton, SNRE PostDoc Research Fellow, newtonp@umich.edu, +1 734 709 3734
Job title: 
Theme Leader, Pro-poor mitigation
Project Location : 
São Paulo, Brazil and Jakarta, Indonesia
Summary of Project Idea: 

Background
Forest and agriculture landscapes in tropical countries present major conservation and development challenges, including for biodiversity conservation, food production, livelihood improvement and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In response to these challenges, state, civil society, and market institutions are trying to alter land use practices related to agriculture commodity production. Their interventions are based on new or modified policies, incentives and information. The former two usually require political leverage and significant financial resources, respectively. Information, however, whether targeted at consumers (e.g. awareness campaigns to inform purchase decisions), retailers (e.g. to source more sustainably produced inputs or to improve the sustainability of their processes), or producers (e.g. to improve production practices or access to markets) can have rapid and lower-cost outcomes. However, there has been little systematic evaluation of the efficacy of different information-based interventions in achieving environmental, economic and social goals in different contexts.

Research goal
This project objective will be to describe some of these information-based interventions, evaluate their impacts, and analyze the factors which contribute to their successes and shortcomings.

This objective will be achieved through the completion of three principal tasks:

  1. A comprehensive review of the variety of interventions will be conducted, drawing on published and gray literature, as well as online media and reports. The focus will be on agriculture and forests, though cases involving other natural resource management scenarios may also be included. Cases will be systematically compiled into a database to enable subsequent analyses.
  2. In-depth case-studies will be developed for 4-6 examples (one per student) of innovative interventions. Semi-structured interviews with representatives of the organizations involved (NGOs, producers, or research institutes) will be used to develop these case-studies, along with analysis of secondary data and field- or site-visits where appropriate. Data will be collected using survey instruments that allow for comparability between cases.
  3. An analysis of the variables involved in determining the outcome of different interventions will be conducted to identify the most significant features of information-based interventions, and the commonalities between interventions in different contexts.

This master's project will form a component of a two-year research collaboration between CCAFS and researchers in SNRE. There will be opportunities for students to engage with other elements of this research project (for example, by incorporating information-based interventions into analyses with policy- and incentive-based interventions).

Skills/Expertise Needed: 

Skills (essential):
-    Critical thinking
-    Detail-oriented work ethic
-    Enthusiasm and capacity to work in a team
-    Strong communication skills
 
Skills (desirable):
-    Experience of conducting interviews
-    Experience of conducting literature reviews
-    Experience of quantitative or qualitative data-analysis

Expertise:
No prior expertise or knowledge is required, but students must have a strong interest in sustainability, agriculture, forests and supply-chains.

SNRE Program Areas: 
Conservation Ecology (Aquatic Sciences, Terrestrial Ecosystems, and Conservation Biology)
Environmental Policy and Planning
Behavior, Education, and Communication
Environmental Informatics
Sustainable Systems
Professional Career Development Benefits: 

Students will:
-    Develop skills in literature review, survey design, semi-structured interviews, data- analysis
-    Gain knowledge of agriculture, forests, supply-chains, institutions and governance
-    Visit, and work directly with, partner institutions that may include NGOs, research institutes, or private sector companies.
-    Gain an insight into the CGIAR research network
-    Prepare and publish a CCAFS Report
-    Prepare and submit an article to a peer-reviewed journal

Funding Sources: 

CCAFS will provide $2,500 per student, to assist with travel and related expenses (confirmed)

Identify expected products/deliverables: 

1.    A database of information-based interventions.
2.    In-depth intervention case-study reports (one per student).
3.    A synthesis report that combines all case-studies under a common framework. Published and disseminated online in the CCAFS Report series.
4.    An analytical paper that identifies common elements of successful information-based interventions. Submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.