International Research
The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and SCRI joined forces on 1 April 2011 to create The James Hutton Institute. It is the first Institute of its type in Europe and will make major, new contributions to the understanding of key global issues such as food, energy and environmental security.
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South America
The process of
change in the rural economies of South America as agriculture adjusts to both
political developments, and the widespread global depression of agricultural
commodity prices, continually challenges sustainable land use. In the vast
regions of the Andean mountain chain and Patagonian steppe, which depend on
extensive rangelands for their economic development, rural poverty, land
degradation by overgrazing, land rights and erosion of biodiversity are
widespread. The solutions require an integrated, holistic approach.
KEY ISSUES
- Development of sustainable farming systems based on indigenous resources
- Desertification of rangelands
- Conservation of wildlife and flora
- Integration of conservation interests and agricultural development
WE CAN OFFER:
We have a long history of work on agricultural systems development and also on the analysis of land use within both the socio-economic and environmental contexts in which agriculture operates.
- Expertise in ecology of less productive rangelands and in fibre/wool production from indigenous camelid species
- Expertise in rural development and environmental issues
- Expertise in grassland management and feed resource management in general
- Expertise in nutrition of animals and in feed evaluation, preservation and upgrading technologies
- Expertise in environmental and land use policy development
SOME RECENT PROJECTS
- Argentina, Chile, Peru - Sustainable economic utilisation. (European Commission)
- Chile - Innovative approaches to understand complex microbial communitities for eco-engineering site degredation of herbicides in stressed agricultural soils. (European Commission)
- Chile - Ecology of huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), the Andean deer, in the temperate rainforest of Chilean Patagonia. (Wellcome Trust, Darwin Initiative)
- Bolivia and Chile - Sustainable use of wild camelids for quality textile production. (British Council)
- Argentina - PhD supervision on vegetation dynamics/ biodiversity management of rangelands in Patagonia. (Argentinian Government)