What We Do
Research for resilient forest landscapes
SUSTAIN
Brazil nuts as part of a global sustainable food system
SUSTAIN is a research project of ETH Zurich, CIFOR and Bioversity International, and is supported by the World Food System Center. We officially collaborate with the Peruvian organizations IIAP, UNAMAD and PROFONANPE. Our research is aimed at gathering evidence to support sustainable supply chains of Brazil nuts from Peru to Switzerland.
Brazil nuts
An economically important forest product
The Brazil nut is a giant tropical rainforest tree found in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Harvested from the wild, the nutritious nuts are one of the most economically important non-timber forest products in the world. Annual exports of Brazil nuts are valued at tens of millions US dollars, but only a small fraction are sourced ethically through certification.
Harvesting the nuts
An important element of rural livelihoods in the Amazon
Brazil nut harvesting is a crucial part of rural livelihoods across the Amazon region. The same rural communities also depend on timber harvesting from the same forests to keep them above the poverty line. Forest degradation, as a consequence of unplanned intensive timber harvesting, has potentially negative consequences for Brazil nut production, biodiversity conservation, and climate change.
Our aims
Research that contributes to a global sustainable food system
We focus on the Madre de Dios region of Peru, which contains 26,000 square kilometers of the most biologically diverse, carbon dense, Brazil nut-rich forest in South America.
Our specific research aims are:
- Develop a better understanding of the effect of forest degradation on the reproductive ecology of the Brazil nut tree
- Use this better understanding to improve Brazil nut management
- Develop a better understanding of the barriers harvesters face to adopt certification and export standards
- Provide COOP information about the options for a resilient and sustainable supply chain of Brazil nuts from Peru
Through these endeavors we will provide a novel and powerful contribution to the global sustainable food system.
Who We Are
A multi-disciplinary team.
Merel Jansen
Project coordinator
Merel is our project coordinator based in Peru.
Fidel Chiriboga
Project coordinator
Fidel Chiriboga is our project coordinator based in Peru.
Chris Kettle
Principal Investigator
Chris Kettle is Principal Investigator on the project.
Manuel Guariguata
Principal Investigator
Manuel Guariguata is joint Principal Investigator.
Julia Quaedvlieg
Local coordinator
Julia is our local coordinator, based in Puerto Maldonado, Peru.
Juan Andres Santalices
Market development
Juan is a consultant on Market Development (Fair Business Alliance). When not in Peru, Juan is based in Edinburgh, UK.
Carmenza Robledo
Forest governance
Carmenza is an Associated Scientist providing expertise on forest governance and interdisciplinary tools. She is based at ETH, Zürich, Switzerland.
Eriks Arroyo Quispe
Local coordinator
Eriks is coordinating several elements of our fieldwork in Puerto Maldonado, Peru.
Flor Vargas
Local coordinator
Flor is coordinating several elements of our fieldwork in Puerto Maldonado, Peru.
Students
Our team of students.
Anna Borgensen
Anna is our intern and expert in business model development.
Gabriela Wiederkehr
Gaby is working as an assistent, and has previously written her thesis about Brazil nut tree pollination at as part of her ETH Zürich MSc .
Sara Hellstrom
Sara is doing her MSc thesis on Brazil nut pollinator diversity, at the University of Lund.
Alessia Capurso
Alessia is doing her MSc thesis on pollinator augmentation and the effect of degradation on forest structure, at Wageningen University.
Daniel Navarro Pérez
Daniel is doing his BSc thesis on pollinator augmentation and the effect of degradation on forest structure, at UNAMAD.
Francisco Ehrenberg
MSc intern from Wageningen University
Rens Brouwer
MSc thesis student on “Finding best practices of Brazil nut enrichment planting in Peru”, Wageningen University.
Maria Camila Alvarez Romero
MSc thesis on socio-institutional characterisation at ETH Zurich.
Simona Zahner
MSc thesis on endofitic fungi communities at ETH Zurich.
Ennia Bosshard
BSc thesis student on connecting consumers of Brazil nuts to restoration activities in Madre de Dios (Peru), ETH Zurich.
Elisabeth Lagneaux
MSc thesis student on "Forest foods as a tool for forest and landscape restoration and an opportunity for diversified food systems in Madre de Dios, Peru" , Wageningen University/ISARA Lyon.
Jolijn Miedema
MSc intern from Wageningen University working with mapping and monitoring of forest-enrichment plots of planted Brazil-nut seedlings
Jiska Schaaf
MSc thesis student from Wageningen University working on growth responses of Brazil nut tree seedlings to irradiance after enrichment planting
Maxime Blomberg
MSc thesis student from Wageningen University working on the effect of soil characteristics and light availability among different types of enrichment sites on the survival and growth rate of Brazil nut seedlings
