Alterna(ves  to  Slash  and  Burn  Programme:  what  have  we  learned,  

where  to  next?  

Anne-­‐Marie  Izac  2nd  Chair,  GSG  of  ASB  

(Consor(um  Chief  Officer,  Chief  Science  Officer,  Senior  Science  Advisor)  

Outline  

1.  Looking  back  to  the  beginning:  ini(al  ASB  objec(ves  and  5  lessons      

2.  Looking  ahead:  ASB  and  future  lessons  for  the  evolving  set  of  CRPs    

1.  Ini(al  ASB  objec(ve:  1st  lesson  

•  Reduce  deforesta(on  by  S/B  agriculture.  By  providing  ecologically  and  economically  sustainable    op(ons  for  farmers  +  scien(fic  evidence  to  policy-­‐makers  

•  ToC:    providing  new  scien(fic  evidence  &  improved  prac(ces      would  trigger  â  in  deforesta(on  

•  1st  lesson:    ToC:  far  too  simplis2c/naive  about  how  science  can  influence  rest  of  world    

1.  What  ASB  did  differently  on  partnerships  and  research  approaches  

•  For  1st  (me  in  CGIAR:  teams  of  biophysical  x  social  scien(sts,  from  ≠  ins(tu(ons,  within-­‐  outside  CGIAR,  na(onal,  interna(onal,  some  stakeholders  

•  Interdisciplinary,  mul(  ins(tu(onal  teams  

•  Spent  2-­‐3  years  on  team  building  +  ‘characterisa(on’,  priority-­‐se^ng  across  research  sites  

•  Worked  at  different  spa(al  scales  

 

1.  Second  and  third  lessons    

•  2nd  lesson:  interdisciplinary  &  mul2ins2tu2onal  approaches  thus  developed  (e.g.,  ASB  matrix)  produced  relevant,  useful  results  that  uni  disciplinary  and  uni  ins2tu2onal  approaches  could  not  have  produced  

•  3rd  lesson:  governance  and  mgt  structure  needs  to  be  aligned  with  science  implemented  (inclusive,  transparent,  accountable)  

•  both  lessons  used  in  criteria,  principles  for  current  CRPs:  new,  wider  partnerships  required,  CRP  governance  to  be  inclusive  

•  Interdisciplinary  work  s(ll  difficult  in  CRPs,  par(cularly  biophysical  x  social  scien(sts;  governance  s(ll  an  issue  in  various  CRPs  

1.    4th    lesson    

•  Lesson  4:  to  generate  new  knowledge,  IPGs,  essen2al:  baseline/benchmark  in  mul2ple  sites;  understanding  of  processes  at  play  in  ≠  environments,  at  ≠  spa2al-­‐temporal  scales  before  can  scale  up  

•  Today,  CRPs  struggling  with  ’baseline  analysis’,  work  at  mul(ple  scales,  credible  scaling  up.  Realising  only  now    importance  of  this  for  RBM.    

1.    5th  lesson  

•  Ini(al  ToC  too  simplis(c,  subsequently  disproved  by  empirical  evidence.  Today’s  ToC  less  naive  about  influence  of  science.  

•  5th  lesson:  flexibility,  willingness  to  learn  from  mistakes,  asking  existen2al  ques2ons,  re-­‐inven2ng  program:  essen2al  to  evolve  realis2c  ToC  over2me  

1.  To  summarise,  External  Review  of  ASB,  2005  

       …  ‘ASB  has  created  the  world’s  pre-­‐eminent  system  for  use-­‐driven,  compara2ve  scien2fic  inves2ga2on  of  human-­‐environment  interac2ons  at  the  forest  margin  across  the  pan  tropic  domain….  ASB  has  developed  an  effec2ve  and  efficient  governing  structure  that  successfully  integrates  capabili2es  and  concerns  across  CGIAR  Centers,  tropical  regions,  scales  and  disciplines’.    

2.  Looking  ahead  

•  ASB  should  keep  breaking  new  ground  for  CGIAR.  Show    how  transdisciplinary  approaches  accelerate  discovery  and  innova(on  and  the  applica(on  of  innova(ons  for  complex  problems  

•  Contribute  new  perspec(ve  to  debates  on  reproducibility  of:  –  Achievements  (innova(ons)  in  a  specific  geographical  loca(on  to  other  places  

–  Successes  in  influencing  policy-­‐making  

2.  Looking  ahead:  main  challenge  

•  Providing  more  secure,  diversified  &  healthy  food  grown  in  more  and  more  difficult  condi2ons,  whilst  decreasing  the  environmental  footprint  of  agriculture  and  decreasing  inequali2es    

•  Complex,    interconnec(ons,  uncertain(es,  beyond  any  discipline’s  reach.  Requires  ‘transforma(ve’  integra(on  of  many  sciences  (life,  natural,  social,  human  health,  mathema(cal)  and  perspec(ve  of  stakeholders    

•  Inter/mul(disciplinary  approaches  insufficient  to  promote  collabora(on  and  synthesis  needed  to  produce  truly  innova(ve  solu(ons  to  large–scale,  complex  problems.    

Complex,  mul2dimensional  challenges      

Source:  IAASTD,  2008  

2.  Transdisciplinary  approaches  

•  Change  in  scien2fic  culture:  reality  is  mul2dimensional,  so  is  knowledge.    

•  New  ways  of  thinking,  new  tools  &  approaches  by  working  together  across  disciplines  &with  stakeholders.  Builds  upon  but  transcends  reduc2onism,  linear  logic.  

•  Systema2c  approach,  based  on  overall  coherence  rather  than  unity  

•  Crea2ve  “convergence–divergence”  process  that  brings  areas  of  knowledge  together  into  a  new  system  to  spin  off  applica2ons  and  elements  that  can  in  turn  be  recombined  and  integrated  

•  Results  in  new  social  distribu2on  of  knowledge  

•  ASB  has  more  experience  than  most  in  working  toward  this,  including  in  having  governance  &  mgt  structure  aligned,  facilita2ng  open  scien2fic  culture  

Source:  Izac  et  al,06  

More  integra2ve  approaches  

In  conclusion  

•   ASB’s  experience:  5  lessons  relevant  for  all  CRPs  today.  On  essen(ality  of  partnerships;    alignment  of  governance  &  mgt  with  research  needs;  importance  of  working  at  ≠  scales,  in  ≠  countries  and  of  learning  from  mistakes,  re-­‐crea(ng    

•     Compara(ve  advantage  of  CGIAR  today:  capacity  to  work  globally  from  many  sites,  across  ins(tu(ons  &  disciplines  to  more  rapidly  design  robust  op(ons.  ASB  has  significantly  contributed  

•   Given  complexity  of  challenges  ahead,  more  transforma(ve  changes  are  now  needed,  more  urgently.  ASB  is  more  nimble  than  CRPs;  can  con(nue  to  break  new  ground    for  CGIAR  

In  conclusion,  for  a  new  science    

•  Complex  challenges  ahead  require  more  integra(ve  and  collabora(ve    approaches:  

–  Using  transdisciplinary  approaches  that  transcend  disciplinary  boundaries  ,  involving  stakeholders  

–  To  design  truly  innova(ve  approaches,  bejer  tuned  to  complexity,  uncertainty,  constant  change  

•  Huge,  exci(ng  challenge  for  ASB  scien(sts:  new  type  of  science  needed,  new  way  of  conceiving  role  of  research  in  society  

•  Recent    recogni2on  of  this  need  (e.g.,  US    Academy  of  Sciences,  Special  Rapporteur  to  the  UN  on  the  right  to  food)  and  of  transforma(ve  improvements  resul(ng  from  such  approaches  (medicine,  engineering)