Guardians Worldwide

Guardians Research

Guardians Research is the applied research and consultancy division of Guardians Worldwide, specialising in transdisciplinary studies at the intersection of climate, health, and environmental governance.

Our work integrates scientific inquiry, participatory research, and field-based implementation to co-design practical solutions with Indigenous, Afro-descendent, and rural guardian communities. We provide partners and funders with evidence synthesis, feasibility analysis, and governance modelling for land, water, and health systems under climate stress.

Guardians Research operates as a distributed research platform linking academic institutions, local actors, and policy partners through digital collaboration and open learning tools. Our projects — from forest restoration and carbon equity in Nigeria, to fire-smart land regeneration and mosaic habitat resilience in Portugal, to water stewardship and goverance in Latin America — combines social and ecological data to generate actionable knowledge for climate adaptation, equity, and planetary health.

Riverkin: Water Value Research Group (2022-present)

GWW in collaboration with water@Leeds and Priestley Centre for Climate Futures

Read our latest publication for Nature and Society here

Governing rivers as legal persons: Developing a kin-centric rights
framework to address Brazil’s
river crisis (2026-2029)

Guardians Research in collaboration with University of Leeds, Sao Paulo State University and MAPAS NGO.

Reframing Climate Narratives (2026-2029)

GWW In collaboration with University of Newcastle Rivers State University, Nigeria

Check our latest podcast here

ODI Decolonising Journey Consultancy and Report (2025)

In collaboration with Eyob Gebremariam (University of Bristol); Lata Narayanaswamy (University of Leeds); and Michelle Lokot (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

Social Innovation & Participatory Research

Focus on Water: Exploring the Links Between Minority Rights and Water Justice (Minority Rights Group, 2022) This report includes 50 case studies from around the world. Dr Nicolas Salazar Sutil from Guardians Worldwide is the lead author and editor. The report was presented at the UN Water Conference 2023 and commissioned by the Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Water and Sanitation

Focus on Water: Minority and Indigenous Trends (2023)

Download Report

Social Innovation & Participatory Research

Climate Visuals was commissioned by the Climate and Land Use Alliance and Climate Outreach. The project create recommendations of best visual practice for content producers, editors, distributors, agencies and publishers who wish to work with, for, or who are from, the Indigenous and forest communities of Central and South America. The openly accessible report was wirtten by Dr Nicolas Salazar Sutil from Guardians Worldwide and it catalyse positive change and connections towards imagery that is transformative, sustainable and impactful around the issues of land use, conservation and climate solutions.