A conceptual framework for the assessment of multiple functions of agro-ecosystems: a case study of Trás-os-Montes olive groves

Multifunctionality in agriculture has received a lot of attention the last decade from researchers and policy-makers alike, perhaps most notably evidenced by the important changes made to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. While the concept has been embraced by environmentalists envisioning positive impulses for decoupling and a range of local stakeholders recognizing implicit marketing opportunities involved, it has also been criticized as a mere argument in favour of disguised protectionism. Problematic in this discussion is the lack of an operationalising framework for the assessment of multiple functions. In this paper, we discuss such a framework and the role it can play in the decisionmaking process. Focusing on a case study about olive farming on sloping and mountainous land in northeastern Portugal, the contribution discusses methods for studying multiple functions of agroecosystems. While function assessment is presented from a research perspective, its relevance for stakeholders is also stressed here. By using the metaphor of a house, the method could appeal to a wide range of actors. In the case study, we conclude that olive groves on sloping and mountainous land particularly fall short in supplying ecological functions. They do however contribute significantly to the local economy, generate employment and perform an important role in maintaining the cultural landscape and identity, and are thus vital to regional development and to stop outmigration of the population. Policy-makers could use the function assessment tool to design effective cross-compliance rules and relevant agro-environmental measures to reinforce ecological and social functions, and to communicate ideas to other stakeholders. As such, it provides an extension of public debate and can reinforce decision-making by visualizing trends, development alternatives or scenarios. The role of research in this method is to facilitate dialogue between stakeholder groups and to feed the process with relevant indicator

Learning from non-linear ecosystem dynamics is vital for achieving land degradation neutrality

Land Degradation Neutrality is one of the Sustainable Development Goal targets, requiring on-going degradation to be balanced by restoration and sustainable land management. However, restoration and efforts to prevent degradation have often failed to deliver expected benefits, despite enormous investments. Better acknowledging the close relationships between climate, land management and non-linear ecosystem dynamics can help restoration activities to meet their intended goals, while supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation. This paper is the first to link ecological theory of non-linear ecosystem dynamics to Land Degradation Neutrality offering essential insights into appropriate timings, climate-induced windows of opportunities and risks, and the financial viability of investments. These novel insights are pre-requisites for meaningful operationalisation and monitoring of progress towards Land Degradation Neutrality

The PESERA-DESMICE Modeling Framework for Spatial Assessment of the Physical Impact and Economic Viability of Land Degradation Mitigation Technologies

This paper presents the PESERA-DESMICE integrated model developed in the EU FP6 DESIRE project. PESERA-DESMICE combines a process-based erosion prediction model extended with process descriptions to evaluate the effects of measures to mitigate land degradation, and a spatially-explicit economic evaluation model to evaluate the financial viability of these measures. The model operates on a grid-basis and is capable of addressing degradation problems due to wind and water erosion, grazing, and fire. It can evaluate the effects of improved management strategies such as maintaining soil cover, retention of crop residues, irrigation, water harvesting, terracing, and strip cropping. These management strategies introduce controls to various parameters slowing down degradation processes. The paper first describes how the physical impact of the various management strategies is assessed. It then continues to evaluate the applicability limitations of the various mitigation options, and to inventory the spatial variation in the investment and maintenance costs involved for each of a series of technologies that are deemed relevant in a given study area. The physical effects of the implementation of the management strategies relative to the situation without mitigation are subsequently valuated in monetary terms. The model pays particular attention to the spatial variation in the costs and benefits involved as a function of environmental conditions and distance to markets. All costs and benefits are added to a cash flow and a discount rate is applied. This allows a cost-benefit analysis(CBA) to be performed over a comparative planning period based on the economic lifetime of the technologies being evaluated. It is assumed that land users will only potentially implement technologies if they are financially viable. After this framework has been set-up, various analyses can be made, including the effect of policy options on the potential uptake of mitigation measures and an analysis of where cost-effectiveness is highest. Apart from model description, we present case studies of the use of the framework to illustrate its functioning and relevance for policy-making

Agent-based modelling of agricultural water abstraction in response to climate change and policies: In East Anglia, UK

Freshwater is a vital natural resource for multiple sectors. However, freshwater available for abstraction in the UK and in particular agricultural irrigation in East Anglia is becoming increasingly variable and uncertain due to climate and policy changes, and increase in demand. We present an Agent-Based Model (ABM) that has the capability to capture the complexity of this system as individual abstractors interact, learn and adapt to internal and external changes. The purpose of this model is to understand under which policy and climate change scenarios sustainable water resource management emerges from decisions and interactions of water abstraction licence holders. This poster will present the conceptual model and preliminary results

Applying Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) with stakeholders to explore and codesign options for water resource interventions

Bayesian Belief networks (BBNs) are a useful tool to account for uncertainty and can be used to incorporate stakeholder understandings of how a system works. In this study, BBNs were applied to elicit and discuss local stakeholders’ concerns in conflicts over water resource planning in two cases in southern Thailand. One concerned the construction of a dam proposed by a top-down project. The other concerned a bottom-up participatory process at the catchment scale to assess the need for water resources interventions and explore perceptions on alternative design options. In the top-down project, the responses of participants during the elaboration of the BBN showed that potentially affected stakeholders were particularly concerned about limited consultation and lack of shared benefits, which led them to oppose the dam project. In the bottom-up project, local stakeholders expected and agreed with the benefits of a dam, proposing to locate the dam upstream of community land. The BBN method did not facilitate dialogue in the top-down dam-building project because no alternative design options could be discussed and potentially affected stakeholders did not want to discuss compensation because of mistrust and differences in valuation of effects. In the bottom-up project, the BBN method did facilitate dialogue on alternative intervention options and their effects. The replicable BBN framework can support policy-makers to better understand water conflict situations in different stages of planning. Its application supports exploring a wider repertoire of options, enlarging the scope for more inclusive and sustainable solutions to water resource conflicts

Modelling Fertilizer Use in Relation to Farmers’ Household Characteristics in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China

Non-point source pollution from excessive use of fertilizers in agriculture is a major cause of the eutrophication problem in China. Understanding farmers’ decision-making concerning fertilization and identifying the influencing factors in this process are key to tackling overfertilization and related pollution issues. This paper reports a study on modelling decisions about fertilizer use based on data collected from 200 farmer households in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of China, using a well-fitted artificial neural network (ANN) with incorporated variance-based sensitivity analysis. The rate of fertilizer use estimated from the model is in good agreement with observed data. The model is further validated and tested by comparing the simulated and observed values. Results show that the model is able to identify the influencing factors and their interactions causing the variation in fertilizer use and to help pinpoint the underlying reasons. It is found that the farmers’ fertilization behavior is greatly affected by the area of cultivated land, followed by the interaction among farmers’ education level, annual income, and awareness of the importance of environmental protection. Future land consolidation is one of several ways to achieve more sustainable fertilization strategies

A new dryland development paradigm grounded in empirical analysis of dryland systems science

Global drylands face a host of urgent human and environmental challenges with far-reaching impacts. Improving smallholder agriculture remains a key development pathway to tackle these challenges. The Dryland Development Paradigm (DDP), introduced in 2007, presented a highly influential framework for dryland development based on systems research. This paper empirically derives a new, updated DDP. It assesses recent, cutting-edge dryland science, combining literature review with qualitative and quantitative analysis of research published by the world's largest dryland science and development research initiative. The new DDP comprises eight characteristics that are distilled into three integrative principles: Unpack, Traverse and Share. The new DDP is applied and tested to identify key dryland knowledge and development gaps. A future research agenda is then elucidated, grounded in a research in development approach, in which research anchored in the three integrative principles is embedded within the context it seeks to improve. Supported by greater transdisciplinarity and knowledge co-production, operationalization of the new DDP can deliver both novel scientific insights and development impact in line with the aspirations of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

Allying knowledge integration and co-production for knowledge legitimacy and usability: The Amazonian SISA policy and the Kaxinawá Indigenous people case.

Environmental policies that aim to enhance nature conservation, biodiversity, and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) rely on knowledge integration and co-production processes that include both science and Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems. While these processes are expected to safeguard the diversity of knowledge systems, uneven power relations among participants often prevent them from achieving this which can affect the legitimacy and usability of the outcomes of these processes. Using a case study in the Acre state (Brazil), where policy practitioners implemented the REDD+policy System of Incentives for Ecosystem Services in the Brazilian Kaxinawá Nova Olinda Indigenous Land, we investigate how participants manage challenges to safeguard knowledge diversity and usability during policy assessment and planning. Our findings show how, despite the use of participatory approaches, knowledge diversity ended up being compromised because policy practitioners were insufficiently attentive to power asymmetries and their implications. This, however, did not negatively affect the usability of the knowledge outcomes. Rather than focusing on the perfection of participatory methods, we call for a practical ethics that relies on culturally and ethically sensitive dialogues and that include continuous reflection. Such reflection will enable adaptation and improvisation to be able to respond to emerging power dynamics in an adequate and timely manner, thereby ensuring both the legitimacy and the usability of the outcomes of knowledge integration and co-production

Sydney College of the Arts handbook

2006 handbook for Sydney College of the Art