Research Towards the Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems

The overall goal of this project is to reinforce the capacities of scientific research, technological development and innovation in Região Norte, thereby contributing to the accumulation of scientific competencies relevant to the regional smart specialisation strategy. In this context, the project promotes the complementarity between funds from Horizon 2020 and the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte, through the support to the ERA Chair "TROPIBIO - Expanding potential in TROPIcal BIOdiversity and ecosystem research towards sustainable life on land”, which was approved under the Call H2020-WIDESPREAD-2018-04. This ERA Chair aims at expanding the research and innovation potential of CIBIO-Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, a research centre hosted by ICETA - Instituto de Ciências, Tecnologias e Agroambiente da Universidade do Porto, to develop excellent research towards innovation, contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems, and ultimately to sustainable socioeconomic development and the reduction of poverty in African countries. The ERA Chair is rooted on a network of TwinLabs, which are partnerships established between CIBIO and institutions from Portuguese-speaking African countries to jointly develop research, advanced training and capacity building. The current project will build on the capacity building program of the ERA Chair, but will greatly expand its scope, breadth and innovation potential, by developing and ambitious program of research. The project will pursue three interrelated and complementary research lines, that together will achieve its overall goals.  Research Line (RL) 1 focuses on biodiversity assessments and conservation planning, aiming to increase biodiversity information in the focal African countries, and to use this information to identify biodiversity hotspots, upgrade the network of protection areas, and improve the management of such areas. RL 2 focuses on the conservation biology of flagship species, in particular non-human primates, large herbivore and carnivore species, thereby contributing to their global conservation, to maintain their role as keystone species influencing the structure and composition of natural ecosystems, and to foster their contribution to sustainable development through activities such as ecotourism. RL 3 focuses on how biodiversity underpins ecosystem structure and function, and how this in turn supports the services delivered to people in natural and production systems, thereby contributing to ecosystem conservation within complex and dynamic social-ecological systems. Development of these research lines will be associated with activities targeted at promoting the dissemination and exploitation of research results. Overall, it is expected that the project will greatly contribute to strengthen the I&D sector in Região Norte, promoting economic development and highly qualified employment.