The Australia-Brazil Virtual Research Collaboration is a networking strategy that builds on existing and growing relations and common projects between these two countries by bringing researchers together in virtual matchmaking events to promote their collaboration. This strategy aims to foster and expand joint research on global challenges to increase the pace of knowledge production and its impact, taking advantage of common and complementary interests, expertise and infrastructure. It is run by the Brazilian National Council for State Funding Agencies (CONFAP) and the Australian Government Department of Education (DoE), with support from partner institutions.

The 2024 edition will be on Forests, reflecting the urgent challenges and opportunities faced by Australian and Brazilian societies in understanding and preserving these ecosystems, especially under the growing effects of climate change and the need to implement economic transitions towards greater sustainability.

The research streams to be featured are:

• Biodiversity – collecting and sharing data for research use
• Deforestation – threats from human activity and strategies for preservation
• Forest communities – livelihoods, culture and sustainability

Themes for 2024 Edition on Forests

Forests in Australia and Brazil hold immense environmental, social and economic value. Covering 17% and 58% of these countries’ land areas respectively, these ecosystems are crucial to preserving biodiversity and mitigating the effects of climate change. Millions of people live in and around forests, including hundreds of traditional communities and dozens of major urban centres, for which these forests serve vital economic functions including fishing, sustainable extraction, tourism and energy production. Despite their importance, Australian and Brazilian forests are in decline as a result of unsustainable economic activity. Health crises, water pollution, biodiversity loss and wildfires are some of the social and environmental consequences affecting these ecosystems and the communities that depend on them for their livelihoods.

The Australia-Brazil Virtual Research Collaboration event will include three separate breakout rooms covering the following research streams:

1. Biodiversity – collecting and sharing data for research use. Australia’s and Brazil’s forests are heterogenous and extend over vast distances with varying climates. As such, it is laudable that both countries have advanced significant efforts to collect and provide access to data and information on their national biodiversity, facilitating cutting-edge research into how living organisms interact with and depend on their environments. Some major steps in this direction include Australia’s 2010 launch of the open-source platform Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), which also helped to enable the Brazilian Biodiversity Information System (SiBBr), each part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Both countries have also passed legislation that protects and regulates scientific and economic use of genetic heritage, and, in the Brazilian case, traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity. This stream will explore methods, technologies, initiatives and legal frameworks for collecting and sharing biodiversity data from forests and highlight opportunities for ethically-sound international research collaboration.

2. Deforestation – threats from human activity and strategies for preservation. The extent of deforestation in Australia and Brazil is alarming: it is estimated that Australian forests today cover less than 50% of their pre-colonial area, while only 24% of Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest remains intact and multiple studies indicate the Amazon Rainforest approaches an ecological tipping point. Deforestation has been historically driven by urban development but is now principally caused by economic activities like livestock grazing, agriculture, wood extraction and mining. Despite differences in climate and socioeconomic contexts, Australia and Brazil can benefit from similar strategies to curb deforestation, which include employing new information and communications technologies (ICTs) to strengthen environmental protection and incentivizing viable economic alternatives for sustainable and inclusive development. Technological advances in satellite technologies, for instance, allow for comprehensive mapping of forests and real-time monitoring that reduces the need for extensive manual efforts. Also, breakthroughs in agricultural science can increase the productivity of existing farmland, reducing incentives for expansion of agricultural frontiers. This stream will focus on the causes of deforestation and the technological, economic and social strategies that can be employed to limit this phenomenon in Australia and Brazil.

3. Forest communities – livelihoods, culture and sustainability. From Australian First Nations to Brazil’s afro-descendant quilombolas, seringueiro rubber tappers and indigenous groups, the communities that live within and depend on healthy forest ecosystems vary greatly in their sociocultural identities and modes of livelihood. They are akin, however, in their greater vulnerability to forest degradation, in possessing unique knowledge of their local territory, flora and fauna, and in their importance topreservation of forests. For example, while 14% of Brazil is indigenous territory, these lands accounted for less than 1% of total vegetation loss in Brazil over the last 30 years. In the Amazon region, indigenous lands have also been shown to sequester more carbon than non-indigenous areas of the forest. Australia and Brazil’s research institutions have increasingly recognized the importance of forest communities’ traditional knowledge and their agency in the sustainable development of forest economies. Initiatives such as CONFAP’s Amazon+10 Initiative have made the active participation of these communities a prerequisite in research funding proposals, while Australia’s CSIRO has launched the Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Principles to guide research involving Traditional Owners. This stream will explore the contributions of these communities to forest sustainability, the various social an economic challenges they face to secure their livelihoods and how research can support to support and strengthen these communities.

Event Format

The event will be held across two ninety-minute sessions running on consecutive days.

Session 1 will be held at 7:00pm on 23 October 2024 (Brasilia Time) /8:00am on 24 October2024 (Australian Eastern Standard Time). There will be keynote speakers from both countries, followed by a panel session for participants to engage on the topics discussed.

Session 2 will be held at 7:00pm on 24 October 2024 (Brasilia Time) / 8:00am on 25 October 2024 (Australian Eastern Standard Time). The second session will see participants moving into breakout rooms on the three research streams to share information about their current research and connect with other participants.

Ten senior researchers from each country will be selected to participate in the event. Each senior researcher may nominate up to two early to mid-career researchers to also attend.

Agenda (Download)

Session 1: keynote speakers

• Welcome and introductory remarks from CONFAP and DoE – 10 min
• Information on requesting funding support for research – 15 min
• Keynote speakers: 02 experts present on event theme to inspire and promote discussion – 40 min
• Moderated panel discussion with keynote speakers – 20 min
• Close and information on following session – 5 min

Session 2: breakout rooms

• Welcome and overview of breakout rooms – 5 min
• Breakout rooms – moderated session on featured streams – 60min:
• Biodiversity – collecting and sharing data for research use
• Deforestation – threats from human activity and strategies for preservation
• Forest communities – livelihoods, culture and sustainability
• Presentation of breakout rooms by moderators – 20 min
• Close – 5 min

How to Participate

For Australians:

Individual researchers may nominate themselves to participate by completing the form for Australian Applicants.

In the application, researchers will be asked to provide:

• Personal bio with information on previous research related to the event theme
• Areas of interest in this field
• If you have existing partnerships with Brazilian researchers on the event them
• Names of up to two early to mid-career researchers that may contribute to the event, should your application be accepted

Link for application: Registration is closed.

For Brazilians:

Individual researchers may nominate themselves to participate by completing the form for Brazilian Applicants.

In the application, researchers will be asked to provide:

• Personal bio with information on previous research related to the event theme
• Areas of interest in this field
• If you have existing partnerships with Australian researchers on the event theme
• Names of up to two early to mid-career researchers that may contribute to the event, should your application be accepted

Link for application: Registration is closed.

Based on the information provided by these nominees, CONFAP and DoE will select the attendees and inform all nominees of the result.

DEADLINE FOR APPLYING

Nominations from both countries will be accepted until 7:00pm on 15 September 2024 (Brasilia Time) / 8:00am on 16 September 2024 (Australian Eastern Standard Time).

All those selected to participate will be notified by the organizers by 03 October 2024 (Brazil) / 04 October 2024 (Australia).

Contacts

For Australians: education.brasilia@dfat.gov.au

For Brazilians: projetosconfap.dese@gmail.com