PARTNERS: Understanding the socio-ecological processes that shape tropical reforestation Robin Chazdon University of Connecticut partnersrcn@gmail.com Tropical Forests in a Connected World: Collaborative Solutions for a Sustainable Future Yale ISTF 2017

How do we guide forest transitions to achieve better environmental and social outcomes?

Reforests can take many forms Each of these different “modalties” of reforestation has different social, political, and economic drivers and each has different outcomes for livelihoods, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Coffee agroforestry in India. Photo credit: Shonil Bhagwat.

Establish stable and effective governance Interdisciplinary research provides insights into how to achieve better reforestation outcomes Establish stable and effective governance Match approaches to biophysical conditions Enabling conditions Recognize, legitimize, and balance social and cultural frameworks How do we guide/promote/ensure forest transitions to achieve better environmental and social outcomes? Need enabling conditions Need suitable biophysical conditions Need suitable social and cultural conditions Need suitable financial conditions Need effective policy frameworks Need to achieve food security Need long-lasting changes in all sectors of society

Establish stable and effective governance Interdisciplinary research provides insights into how to achieve better reforestation outcomes Establish stable and effective governance Ensure food security and well-being Match approaches to biophysical conditions Enabling conditions Develop effective policy frameworks Recognize, legitimize, and balance social and cultural frameworks How do we guide/promote/ensure forest transitions to achieve better environmental and social outcomes? Need enabling conditions Need suitable biophysical conditions Need suitable social and cultural conditions Need suitable financial conditions Need effective policy frameworks Need to achieve food security Need long-lasting changes in all sectors of society Provide lasting economic incentives

Interdisciplinary and International Research Network Scholarly syntheses and reviews Linking researchers with practitioners and organizations at local and global scales Frameworks for policy and research Policy outreach Over 300 registered members representing 43 countries Educational outreach

Steering Committee & Leadership Thomas Rudel, Rutgers Univ. Michael Willig, UCONN

Organizational Partners

Introductory workshop May 2014: Frameworks for integrating social and ecological drivers of reforestation in the tropics Social and ecological drivers of tropical forest transitions Socio-ecological resilience in tropical landscapes Interactions between climate variability and reforestation Challenges of tradeoffs and synergies in different reforestation scenarios Policy and land use implications of forest concepts and definitions Social and ecological drivers of tropical forest transitions Socio-ecological resilience in tropical landscapes Interactions between climate variability and reforestation Tradeoffs and synergies among different reforestation scenarios Policy and land use implications of forest concepts and definitions

Second workshop Nov. 2015: Making it happen: Motivating and enabling forest restoration and regeneration Spatial prioritization of natural regeneration Economic incentives for natural regeneration restoration Governance frameworks for forest regeneration and restoration Certification and restoration value chains Corporate responsibility and public-private partnerships.

SESYNC Pursuit: Social dimensions of reforestation pathways in the tropics PARTNERS, IFRI/FLARE, CIFOR, ICRAF, CATIE, RECOFTC April 2016: Reforests, rural lives, and livelihoods April 2017: Governing forest and landscape restoration April 2018: Indicators and tools to monitor restoration

Results and impact: Scholarly publications

Workshop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Some works submitted or in progress …. Ecosystem service transitions: The ecological dimensions of forest transitions (submitted) Market motivations for engaging in forest and landscape restoration (submitted) Priority areas for restoration in the world’s tropics and subtropics (analysis in progress) Developing a certification framework for forest and landscape restoration in the tropics (WeForest/PARTNERS/IPÊ) Forest trade and illegal logging as drivers of forest transitions (workshop in May 2017)

Results and impact: Educational modules Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP) of the American Museum of Natural History Open access teaching modules Social and ecological trade-offs in tropical reforestation Forest transitions, biodiversity and livelihoods in tropical landscapes Forest transitions and rural livelihoods in tropical landscapes

Challenges associated with building collaborations among different sectors Timelines, schedules, and priorities of academics and NGOs often conflict Moving beyond scholarly publications; need to reach out to practitioners and partners in different countries (i.e. Natural Regeneration Partnership) Fostering an appreciation for research into high-level restoration partnerships (i.e. Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, Collaborative Partnership on Forests)

Questions for discussion Should interdisciplinary and international research and educational networks such as PARTNERS become “institutionalized?” If so, how? How can our research products become more integrated into regional and global restoration initiatives and policy making? How can research synthesis be channelled into new impactful interdisciplinary research initiatives with implications for policy and practice? Robin Chazdon partnersrcn@gmail.com @partnersrcn https://www.facebook.com/groups/PARTNERSreforest/