RAVA and PEN: Combining strengths for a better understanding of Amazonian livelihoods

The Amazon Livelihood and Environment Network (known by its Spanish acronym, RAVA) is a PEN-inspired project. It was initiated in 2007 by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and other partner institutions within the Amazon Initiative (AI) Consortium, with financial support from the World Bank’s Institutional Development Fund, and in-kind co-financing from ICRAF, CIFOR and other AI member institutions. The objective of the network is to analyse the living conditions of various Amazonian communities and develop a baseline on how forestry, agroforestry and agricultural activities contribute to the wellbeing of these communities, as well as to the conservation of the surrounding environment.

Since field research activities began in late 2007, socioeconomic studies have been carried out across 14 sites in seven Amazonian countries. Two of these sites comprise joint PEN–RAVA studies: Abaetetuba, Brazil and Sumaco, Ecuador. Following PEN guidelines, each location of the RAVA study is a well-defined territory equivalent to one or more districts, or to an Amazonian river basin that is home to communities that are directly dependent on the forest and its products or on other natural resources.

RAVA uses PEN methodology. Compared to PEN protocols, RAVA questionnaires include a few additional sessions on agriculture and agroforestry land use and income. RAVA research is performed through direct collaboration with Amazonian universities and local institutions. In each RAVA site, a small research team typically includes a university professor from a local university, a postgraduate student, and a researcher or technician from a local institution. Cooperation agreements were signed with 14 local institutions for the purpose of conducting RAVA research. Each team has been responsible for coordinating co-participation with other partner institutions active in the locations where the studies are being implemented and, in particular, identifying students from Amazonian universities as members of local research teams. The resulting RAVA network comprises 25 institutions operating through 14 research sites. Nine of the 25 institutions are Amazonian universities (see Table 1).

To date, researchers have finished collecting data in five of the seven countries, with field work still going on in Venezuela and Suriname. A database of 2200 households in almost 150 communities will be assembled through the integration of data from the 14 surveys. During the next 6 months, teams will be checking and cleaning the data already gathered and entered. After the initial STATA course by Ronnie Babigumira, who was a resource person for the third RAVA workshop in May 2009 (Belém, Brazil), teams are receiving online training in STATA, through modular sessions. There are plans to produce an edited volume about RAVA research, as well as publications aimed at sharing useful study results with the subject communities themselves.

Another relevant development for RAVA has been communication and knowledge sharing among the 14 research teams. This has been made possible through the work of the Amazon Initiative communication and IT teams. In addition to the RAVA website (www.iamazonica.org.br/rava) developed in late 2007 and continually updated with site-level information, a RAVA intranet is currently used by more than 60 network participants. The intranet allows the sharing of project documents and images, the establishment of specific thematic forums, and the use of chat rooms, among other functions.

The achievements of the RAVA network have been assessed positively. The practice of extensive fieldwork and data entry, combined with a steady internal communication process and the training provided through three regional workshops, have built a strong sense of collaboration among the groups. The stage has been set for the consolidation of site-level databases and their subsequent integration as a solid regional database on livelihoods and environment, providing a better understanding of Amazonian livelihoods in vulnerable communities in the region.