Conservation and Livelihoods in Tropical Forests: Gender and Youth Transformative Approaches

The Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation (ALC) strategy builds upon the Foundation’s experience with climate and land use as well as the work in reproductive health. ALC aims to support communities in strengthening resilience and improving livelihoods while simultaneously protecting tropical forests and biodiversity. The hypothesis of ALC is that conservation and development goals in tropical regions with significant smallholder agriculture can be most effectively achieved through policies and actions that support smallholder livelihoods and community wellbeing, combined with effective regional planning and natural resource management.

There is limited research on the impact of tropical conservation initiatives that integrate livelihood and well-being objectives on women and young people, especially those that are focused on smallholder farmers and agricultural systems. To help fill this knowledge gap, the Packard Foundation’s Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation (ALC) program is issuing a targeted request for research proposals that center an analysis of women and/or young people in integrated rural agriculture or forest-dependent livelihoods development and conservation initiatives in tropical forested regions. The research will provide an opportunity to deepen the collective understanding of the potential impact from conservation initiatives focused on women and/or youth and how to best support improved livelihoods and wellbeing for these populations.

Research must include tropical forest conservation, smallholder agriculture, and an overarching focus on opportunities and barriers faced by women and/or young people, as well as participatory research methods or community engagement in the research design. Proposals for focus geographies within Ethiopia and Indonesia, those that build upon pre-existing projects that are seeking support for robust research on women and/or young people, and institutions based in countries of interest or that have in-country office/staff will be prioritized.