Dr Mika Peck explaining the dimensions of sound ecology and the different reactions to animal and non-human (biophony), non-biological natural (geophony), and mechanical and human sounds (anthropophony)

Screenshot of the ‘Another Sky Project’ homepage mapping indigenous rights abuses and artwork

Dr Jo Middleton presenting their work on integrating public health and rainforest conservation.

Based around the workshop themes of health and conservation, climate and environmental justice, and indigenous rights and ecocultural values of ecosystems, the sustainability-themed session at the first Sussex Research Partnerships Conference, co-organised by the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP), on 09 March 2022 aimed to provide answers to some important questions about the world’s tropical forests in driving forward the climate and sustainability agendas. More specifically, the session aimed to shine a light on tropical forests as critical zones for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while highlighting the importance of developing and maintaining strong research partnerships. 

The first panel presented their innovative research project on tropical forests focussing on how sonic technology is revolutionising the studies of indigenous people and ecosystems in Ecuador. While Dr Mika Peck (School of Life Sciences) introduced the topic of soundscape ecology explaining how sound is an important contributing factor in identifying species, Dr Paola Moscoso (Fundación Naturaleza y Arte, Ecuador) stressed the importance of soundscapes for ecocultural conservation. In specific regions with higher biodiversity (such as the Ecuadorian Amazon), there is a strong presence of persons with ethnolinguistic characteristics, high diversity of cultural groups and acoustic activity. Indigenous groups like the Sacha Taki recognise the Amazon’s high ecocultural diversity and this important ‘sound heritage’ and draw on it as a means to protect both biodiversity and cultural diversity.

Throughout the sustainability-themed session, the importance of genuine partnerships was stressed. Dr Peck explained that “partnerships happen on very many different levels, in this case the partnership is very much on the ground” and Professor Joseph Alcamo, Director of the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP) and Professor of Environmental Systems Science (School of Global Studies) who chaired the session, continued by saying that “one of the ingredients of a successful partnership is a commitment over years”. 

The second presentation focussed on human rights and sustainability among indigenous cultures in Peru and Brazil before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. As their ‘Another Sky Project’ arose from the British Academy-funded project called ‘Atmospheres of Violence’, Dr Mary Menton (School of Global Studies, Not1More) emphasised the need for transformative decolonial research partnerships explaining that their research was undertaken by, with and for indigenous students, leaders and artists: “our approach was not to do research for the English to read but to really decolonise the research process and partnerships, between the UK and Brazil and also within Brazil”. Following on from this, Dr Felipe Milanez (IHAC, Universidade Federal Da Bahia, Brazil) talked more about some of the innovations, impacts and outputs of the Brazil project, including the documentary ‘Kin – the hope of the world’ and the ‘Another Sky Project’ website. Lastly, Dr Evan Killick (School of Global Studies) summarised the work they had been undertaking in Peru in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional Intercultural de la Amazonía, focussing mainly on capacity-building, training and support for indigenous students. The team repeatedly stressed the importance of genuine non-hierarchical and strong research partnerships on the ground. This was rendered visible particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, as without such a grounding within both Peru and Brazil, the project continuation would have been severely hindered.

The final speakers discussed how two key topics, public health and environmental conservation, can be combined so they can be achieved synergistically. Concentrating on one major global biodiversity hotspot, the tropical forests in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Professor Alan Stewart (School of Life Sciences) explained how the project evolved from pure rainforest ecology research to rainforest conservation and then most recently morphed into aiming to integrate biodiversity conservation and human health. This collaboration between the University of Sussex and the non-profit New Guinea Binatang Research Centre (BRC), not only a key site for biodiversity and climate research in PNG but also for capacity-building and raising environmental awareness, has been formed over more than 20 years. Most notably, BRC has developed a so-called paraecologist concept which has been copied around the world as an ideal model for studying these ‘hyper-diverse ecological communities’, with now over 50 paraecologists employed at BRC according to Deputy Director, Francesca Dem. Finally, Dr Jo Middleton (Brighton and Sussex Medical School) pointed out that in the absence of primary care the desire for public health amongst those living in PNG forest communities can either drive engagement in the destruction – something extractive industries take advantage of – or in the conservation of forests. The core research approach therefore “is to replace this destructive trade-off with a synergy that instead incentivises conservation by empowering communities to protect their forests and the health-related ecosystem services they provide whilst receiving in-community health care”.

Again, the speakers during the last presentation and Q&A part referred to the key role long-term established networks and partners play in research which Prof Alcamo summed up nicely when closing the session: “All projects are ground-breaking, cutting-edge and based on these partnerships that have been developed and solidified over years. That is the big message that’s coming from this: not just talking about partnerships that fly by night, but we are talking about long-term commitments and equitable partnerships where there is a neutral gaining over the years”.

The research projects presented at the Sussex Research Partnerships Conference 2022 received funding from the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP). Explore the SSRP webpages, fur further information on the SSRP-funded research around soundscapes and ecocultural conservation, indigenous visions for rights-based approaches to sustainability and integrating public health and biodiversity conservation.

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