Naomi Millner: Collaborations in the Maya Forest

In the Nicaraguan case meanwhile, forest management plans were shown to be almost redundant due to political issues surrounding the titling of indigenous lands, illegal logging, and organisational structures. As part of her secondment, Naomi has been supporting the development of impact pathways for these results, to enable these results to be integrated into future planning in both contexts, as well as to influence policy and practice surrounding community forestry more generally. The team released a short film and eight (Spanish language) policy briefings summarising these findings in both countries in January this year, through meetings with local communities, regional organisations and national government representatives. Naomi hopes to keep working with community partners on a ‘Forest Lab’ that integrates training young people in a range of research methods with ongoing monitoring of deforestation and sustainable practices.