(Re)Connect the Nexus: Young Brazilians' experiences of and learning about food-water-energy

Completed

Not Energy Related
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Geography and Environmental Studies)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Sociology)

Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour)

Professor P Kraftl
Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences
University of Birmingham

Standard

ESRC

01 January 2016

01 September 2018

33 months

£299,618

West Midlands

Newton

Professor P Kraftl, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham

Dr B Coles, Geography, University of Leicester
Dr S Hadfield-Hill, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham
Dr J Horton, School of Social Science, University of Northampton

Recent research about the food-water-energy nexus has tended to focus on flows (e.g. between producers and consumers) and ways of governing the nexus. However, there is a real need to examine how people (especially young people) understand, learn about and participate in the nexus, in their everyday lives. Only by doing so can we address crucial concerns - such as persistently high levels of poverty amongst Brazil's children, their unequal access to nexus resources, their resilience to nexus threats, and the role of education in addressing the those threats in the future. In Brazil, as in similar countries, young people are a hugely important group, demographically and socially. In Brazil, young people (aged 0-24) make up 42% of the population. Moreover, we already know that in diverse global contexts, young people are instrumental in terms of securing access to resources (including nexus resources), economic productivity, societal resilience, and community life. In addition, young people are often the main recipients of education programmes - especially Education for Sustainability (EfS) - that attempt to address nexus threats and sustainable development goals. However, there is scant research - either in Brazil or globally - that focuses on young people and their interactions with the nexus. This unique, collaborative research will address these important gaps. This project's main aim is to examine young people's (aged 10-24) understandings, experiences and participation in the nexus in Brazil. It focuses on this age group as older children/young adults are a key target group for EfS, and research shows that they are likely to have greater capacities for reflection on the nexus than younger children. In achieving this aim, the project will address three core research questions (with several sub-questions). 1: What are young people's (aged 10-24) understandings, experiences and participation in the nexus in Brazil? Focussing on the Metropolitan Region of Paraiba do Sul River Basin and Sao Paulo State North Shore (Sao Paulo State) as a case study, how do these experiences vary in terms of young people's diverse geographical (urban, suburban, rural) and socio-economic positioning (focussing on age, gender, class and ethnicity )? Amidst the complexities of the food-water-energy nexus, what are the key priorities for young people, their families and communities? How are young people included or (not) in accessing parts of the nexus? 2: What is the role of '(re)connection' in young people's engagements with the nexus? What are the everyday choices that young people - with adult others - must make in, for instance, choosing between the food, water or energy that fuel their bodies, homes and public services? What does it mean for young people to have 'closer' or more 'distant' connections with food in a Brazilian context - and does the principle of 'reconnection', so important to EfS and other programmes for sustainable development have salience there? To what extent do young people's experiences challenge (perhaps Minority World) assumptions about what constitutes 'food', 'water' and 'energy'? 3: How does EfS in Brazil address the nexus? Given that EfS is present, but not compulsory, in Brazil's National Education Plan, to what extent does learning about the nexus currently support young people's understandings of food-water-energy? How can EfS in Brazil be developed to support greater societal resilience against nexus threats? The research questions will be addressed by producing both a baseline survey of ca. 5,000 young people and detailed, multi-method, qualitative research with 100 young people. The project will be undertaken by an established, inter-disciplinary team of UK and Brazilian social scientists and engineers, building on the work of a Newton Research Partnerships Grant. Such collaboration is vital to achieving a step-change in research and societal impacts on (young) people and the nexus.

25/08/17