Research Objectives

The main objectives of this research are

(1) to co-generate actionable knowledge for and to contribute to the transformation of unsustainable cattle-based development in agricultural frontiers (AF) in Latin America and elsewhere and

(2) to produce a better understanding of how such processes of knowledge cogeneration generate transformations to sustainability.

The project focusses on the promotion of institutional change towards social-ecological sustainability, by exploiting the potential of ‘Green Microfinance Plus’ (a combination of microfinance, technical assistance and instruments such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)). Through an action-research study in Nicaragua, we want to identify ways to halt the cattle-driven advancement of the AF with its destruction of forests and encroachment of indigenous territories, and find ways to achieve more sustainable, climate-smart cattle/agricultural development in deforested areas.