In early 2024, EcoAg’s Innovation in Integrated Landscape Management team embarked on an inspiring journey driven by a desire to understand and elevate how people manage landscapes. Our mission was to capture the practical, innovative, and essential lessons from real-world experiences in landscape management. We teamed up with the Latin American Model Forests Network. We weren’t just collecting information but igniting a movement toward resilience, sustainability, and holistic care for the places we cherish. With this knowledge, EcoAg hopes to shape a future where communities and ecosystems thrive together.
Six research fellows were selected from the Latin American Model Forests Network, which participated in EcoAg’s Forest Leaders for Integrated Landscape Management project to study and answer questions most pressing to their landscapes. The Latin American Model Forests Network is a diverse partnership focusing on improving large land areas, such as regions or landscapes. With 20 years of experience, they focus on knowledge sharing, capacity building, networking, governance, and sustainability where they operate.
Our guiding question is simple yet powerful: What can we learn from the leaders who work tirelessly on forest landscape projects? From this question flows insights that will empower future projects and strengthen the foundations of leadership, teamwork, and sustainable landscape practices. “By creating a space for leaders with rich expertise in participatory landscape governance to learn from each other,” says Dr. Bemmy Granados, EcoAg’s Director of Innovation in Landscape Management, “we have developed a shared research agenda on key priorities like sustainable governance, youth leadership, Indigenous partnerships, and climate resilience.”
Collaborating on a Visionary Research Agenda
This shared research agenda is a collaborative blueprint shaped by the voices of Model Forest Leaders. It reflects a shared vision and highlights areas for research, aligning with the needs and aspirations of those in the field. Guided by Granados, six dedicated Model Forest research fellows focus on questions that prioritize gender equity, social inclusion, and a commitment to leaving no perspective unheard. The fellows aim to create practical, applicable research that empowers leaders in landscape management, driving positive change where it’s needed most.
Individual Projects, Collective Goals
Each fellow brings a unique lens to this project, offering insights into landscape management.
Here’s a glimpse into their work:
- Cristina Elizabeth Fueres Guitarra is delving into the role of Indigenous women in land management within Costa Rica’s Reventazón Model Forest, seeking to highlight their essential, often-overlooked leadership.
- Luciana Vicente Silva is exploring the impacts of climate change on farming in the Pantanal Model Landscape in Brazil, focusing on resilience strategies that will empower communities to adapt to a changing environment.
- Marlon Alexander Patiño Hernández is fostering youth engagement in local governance, inspiring young people from the Nuestra Señora del Rosario Institute in Colombia to become community leaders.
- Juan Pablo Rodriguez is studying governance within the Latin American Model Forests Network, using a multilevel approach to understand the intricate dynamics of natural resource management.
- Maria Steffanny Bashi is exploring how youth leadership can strengthen the resilience of the Latin American Model Forest Network, paving the way for sustainable leadership transitions.
- Claudia María Rojas Ríos is capturing the lived experiences of landscape leaders to develop actionable recommendations for Integrated Landscape Management and finance in Latin America.
Building a Community of Learning and Growth
This project is more than research – it’s a vibrant, collaborative journey toward a more connected and sustainable future. Each fellow is crafting their research proposal, ready to bring their ideas to life in early 2025. “With this collective effort, we’re not only documenting lessons but pioneering new approaches that will directly benefit landscapes and communities,” Granados says. By this time next year, their findings will be ready to share with the world.
Through this journey, we’re building stronger projects, forging deeper connections, and creating a sustainable landscape management approach that grows and adapts. This effort exemplifies how teamwork, mentorship, and shared insights can inspire positive, lasting change for our communities and planet.
The Forest Leaders for Integrated Landscape Management program is possible because of generous funding from Natural Resources Canada. We are grateful for their support.