ASB is a global partnership of over 50 institutions around the world with a shared interest in conserving forests and reducing poverty in the humid tropics. ASB is a system-wide programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
ASB works through local collaboration and global partnerships. It unites research institutes, non-governmental organizations, universities and other local, national and international partners. Its aims are to:
- identify and test innovations that will help eradicate poverty while simultaneously curbing the environmental problems associated with deforestation
- provide fora for exchanging information, developing consensus and managing conflicts at the local, national, regional and global levels
- build capacity of the national ASB consortia to promote equitable and sustainable rural development
Thematic research specialisations are on biodiversity, climate change, agronomic sustainability, economic and social indicators, and global synthesis of implications for policy, institutional, and technological options.