Amazonia at the Crossroads: Setting the Agenda for International Transdisciplinary Research of Consequence

Abstract

On January 17, 2023, twenty-seven scientists, advocates, and policy leaders from throughout the Amazon River Basin gathered in Front Royal, Virginia, for an all-day Workshop focused on the future of transdisciplinary research in the region. Participants hailed from Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and the United States, and represented academic disciplines as varied as conservation biology, anthropology, environmental economics, education, botany, political science, geography, geochemistry, and climate science. In addition to academic leaders–including several members from various national academies of science–the Workshop convened funding agencies, NGOs, and multilateral banks. Here we summarize the proceedings of the Workshop. The organizers hope that our findings will help inform the development of a transnational call for transdisciplinary research of consequence focused on the most urgent research-to-action priorities in the greater Amazonian region. The Belmont Forum is currently developing a “Collaborative Research Action” call, under the leadership of the São Paulo Research Foundation and the Interamerican Institute for Global Change Research, along just these lines.