Dr Danilo Urzedo is an environmental geographer and a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge working on the Smart Forests project. Originally hailing from Brazil, Danilo draws his research on multiple perspectives of political ecology and environmental justice to investigate the interplay between tropical forest conservation and rural development. He is particularly concerned with understanding how emerging digital practices are transforming community participation to stop deforestation and upscale forest restoration actions in tropical regions.
Danilo obtained his bachelor’s degree in Forest Engineering at the Federal University of São Carlos before completing a master’s degree in Tropical Forest Conservation at the University of São Paulo, with research undertaken at North Carolina State University. Following several years working as a community forester with Indigenous peoples and smallholders in the Brazilian Amazon, he moved to Australia to undertake a PhD in Human Geography at the University of Sydney investigating the multi-scalar governance of landscape restoration in the Amazon. Upon completion in 2020, Danilo was awarded a Research Associate position in the ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration at Curtin University, Western Australia, examining Indigenous-led seed supply systems for land restoration during the mine closure process.
Danilo’s experience working with Indigenous and rural communities to co-design grassroots actions for tropical forest management has led to significant local engagement and livelihood improvements. He had a substantial contribution in establishing one of the largest community restoration networks in the world - The Xingu Seed Network. This network is recognised globally for engaging hundreds of seed collectors, particularly women and youth, to supply tonnes of diverse native seeds for landscape restoration throughout the Amazon agricultural frontier.