Partners
Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Communities and Slums
This node investigates how nature-based solutions can enhance biodiversity and improve well-being for impoverished populations in urban Brazil, focusing especially on slums and peripheries of Vitória’s metropolitan region. Over 87% of Brazil’s population lives in urban areas, and more than 70% of residents in slums are Black. The research addresses environmental justice by examining concrete alternatives that promote sociocultural and ecological diversity, while highlighting both the opportunities of reaching large vulnerable groups and the challenges of implementing policy change with limited resources and within a short timeframe.
Red Terrae is a Spanish network centered in Extremadura’s province of Cáceres, dedicated to promoting sustainable land stewardship and resilient local economies through agroecology and social innovation. Grounded in local experimentation and peer learning, particularly with rural women, Red Terrae’s initiatives include communal composting, regenerative agriculture, and participatory governance. Its main strengths are adaptability and network-based replicability, while challenges include demographic decline and misaligned administrative frameworks.
Vale da Fonte, located in the Azores in Portugal, pioneers the acclimatization of fruit and crop species using nature-based solutions to conserve soil and water and revitalize both local and endemic vegetation. The project addresses the simplification and degradation of traditional agricultural landscapes and promotes innovation by linking Azorean methods to similar ecological conditions found in Brazil and other Atlantic archipelagos. Main challenges are high bureaucracy and lack of awareness among decision-makers.
Roseli Nunes Agrarian Reform Settlement
Situated in Piraí, Rio de Janeiro, this settlement was organized by the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) and houses 39 families. It fosters agroecological collective production, emphasizing cooperation and knowledge exchange. Since 2018, the Alaíde Reis Collective has led initiatives improving food production and local governance, forming partnerships with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Key challenges include lack of access to agrarian policies, production difficulties, and internal land sales that threaten community stability.
Located in Duque de Caixas, Rio de Janeiro, the Solano Trindade project is a public land occupation led by a housing rights movement aimed at combining agroecological practices, community organizing, and technological innovation. The plot is partly within a protected area facing frequent flooding, and inhabitants have mobilized solutions for sanitation, food production, and eco-construction. While strong university-community partnerships and alternative urban forms are major strengths, the project faces environmental risks, complex territorial disputes, and declining institutional engagement.
Genuino Clandestino - Rete degli Ecovillaggi - Rete dei Beni Comuni
This node, based mainly in Tuscany, Italy, connects three grassroots movements: Genuino Clandestino, which resists neoliberal food regulations and promotes free transformation of peasant food; Rete degli Ecovillaggi, supporting the birth and sustainability of ecological villages; and Beni Comuni, focusing on commons governance. The network is characterized by strong innovation potential and diverse alternative frameworks, but faces the limitation of being niche and not yet broadly studied.
HAMHI | Terra Viva
Working across Timkmu’n-Maxakali Indigenous territories in Minas Gerais, Brazil, HAMHI | Terra Viva mobilizes agroforestry agents and young people for climate adaptation, community seed collection, and educational nurseries. Their efforts reach 634 families over 6,433 hectares, in partnership with institutions and with the support of public platforms. The initiative is described as having a high potential for training future professionals dedicated to healthy food and climate solutions, but is threatened by frequent wildfires and climate crisis impacts prevalent in Brazil’s hottest region.