The Amazon Dams International Research Network (ADN), is a collaboration between scientists and social actors in the Amazon, the United States and elsewhere, that began in 2009 and aims to advance integrative research and knowledge exchange on social-ecological systems transformed by hydroelectric dams. Areas of geographic focus include the Brazilian and Bolivian Amazon, as well as the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River in the United States. ADN promotes knowledge exchange about adaptive management experiences and long-term monitoring programs at focal sites and globally. Program activities have included international workshops that bring together researchers and a diversity of social actors, student and faculty exchanges across institutions, webinars and learning modules on relevant topics and issues, and a website and listserv for exchange of information, news, and publications. During the past decade, the political context for dam building has shifted, and the funding for research on dam impacts and mitigation has evolved. Here we discuss some of the results and lessons learned from this ongoing collaborative effort.
Results/Conclusions
International collaborations facilitated by the ADN have allowed participants to compare how different social-ecological systems, management approaches, and governance regimes set the context for hydroelectric dam-induced transformations. We have found that transdisciplinary efforts bring in voices beyond academia - including locally-affected people (e.g. indigenous, fishers, displaced people), government officials involved in planning and management, public defenders/prosecutors, non-governmental organizations, and dam operators - can enable greater relevance of research to policy, decision-making and sustainability. Transnational collaborative networks can provide benefits to all parties: exchange of people across nations, universities and experiences; funding to scientists that have limited opportunities; collaborative research interactions; capacity building and training for participants; and strengthening of academic institutions. Experiences shared among participants have served as inspiration for research and management diversification and innovation. International networks can also potentially provide stability during political and funding instability and under adverse institutional pressures. They can also bring credibility to forming international relationships and focusing on complex environmental issues. Some lessons learned include the importance of: finding allies within and outside of academia when addressing critical environmental issues; developing long-term commitment and shared leadership; focusing on quality data collection and analysis even under hardship; focusing on critical problems and questions of local relevance; connecting scientific research to policy and the concerns of local people; and including social actors in developing, carrying out and disseminating research.