“I will investigate the conditions under which forest patches can have a sustainable future.”
Two researchers from the University of Bern were awarded ERC consolidator grants in 2020. One of them was CDE Board Member Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Professor of Geography and Sustainable Development. The grant provides support to outstanding researchers to establish or maintain their own research team.
The SUSTAINFORESTS project analyses the roles of forest patches in the highly fragmented agricultural landscapes of the rainforest and savannah zones of West African countries Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon. “The innovative potential of these areas as biodiversity habitats – in adapting to and mitigating climate change – continues to be neglected,” explains Chinwe Ifejika Speranza.
The project will investigate how forest patches preserve livelihood functions and even provide new ecosystem services such as food. “I will also investigate the conditions under which these forest patches can have a sustainable future,” says Chinwe Ifejika Speranza.
The results should clarify theories on forest patches in agricultural landscapes and open up paths for new research. The knowledge gained will be incorporated into efforts to conserve forest areas and to promote sustainable agriculture and forest management.
“The funds from the grant will be used to train geographers at the beginning of their careers,” says Chinwe Ifejika Speranza. “With my team of researchers from Africa, Europe, and other regions of the world, I will conduct field research on selected tropical forest patches in West African forest and savannah regions to understand their dynamics and functions and to learn how they can be managed sustainably.” Generating and communicating such knowledge about the shift towards sustainability is an important focus of research and teaching at the University of Bern, according to Chinwe Ifejika Speranza.
The European Research Council (ERC) was set up by the European Union in 2007 and is the first pan-European funding agency for cutting-edge basic research. Its mission and aim are to promote investigator-driven research by Europe’s best researchers. The Consolidator Grant funding helps mid-career researchers consolidate their own teams and carry out innovative projects across all scientific disciplines.
“Sustainability is the decisive issue of the future – and CDE supplies policy-ready knowledge for it.”
Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern