Drawing on ecosystem services thinking to highlight social interdependencies and foster collective action

Agroecological transition requires socio-technical innovations addressing ecological processes occurring at the farm, but also at the landscape or territorial level. Such innovations imply the coordination of multiple stakeholders through collaboration and collective action. However, a frequent obstacle to the implementation of collective action is that people do not feel interdependent with each other. This communication presents a framework which draws on ecosystem services (ES) thinking to highlight social interdependencies among people and foster collective action in agricultural socioecological systems. This is a collective proposition shared by the members of a research project aimed at articulating ecosystem services and collective action. Collective action in the field of natural resource management generally focuses on the provision and sharing of clearly identified goods such as grasslands, forest products or irrigation water. Compared to the notion of natural resources, the ES notion highlights additional, less visible and more complex benefits such as pollination, insect pest control or water regulation. ES thinking has therefore the potential to reveal implicit social interdependencies 1) among ES beneficiaries, 2) among people contributing to the provision, preservation or degradation of ES, and 3) between them and ES beneficiaries. Highlighting such social interdependencies, the ES notion could therefore help to reflect on, foster and frame collective action in ways that take into account the complex (and fragile) ecological processes underlying human activities and contribute to agroecological transition. In this communication, we first analyze the recent contributions of social sciences in the ES literature. We discuss in particular the challenges and opportunities in connecting the scientific fields of ES and collective action. We then present the framework for analysis and action which explores social interdependencies through the ES lens. We illustrate the proposed framework through case studies related to livestock farming and reforestation in mountainous pastoral areas, and insect pest regulation at the landscape level in a fruit tree production area

Landscape and biodiversity as new resources for agro-ecology? Insights from farmers’ perspectives

Pesticide reduction is a key current challenge. Scientific findings in landscape ecology suggest that complex landscapes favor insect pest biological control by conservation of natural enemy habitats. A potential agro-ecological innovation is to conserve or engineer such complex landscapes to reduce pesticide use. However, whereas the relevant resources are often well known in most natural resource management situations, potential resources involved in this innovation (natural enemies and the landscape) are not necessarily considered as resources in the eyes of their potential users. From the perspective that resources are socially constructed, our objective was to investigate whether and how these resources are considered by their potential users. To do so, we conducted research in an area specializing in tree-fruit (apple) production in southwestern France. This site was selected for its high pest incidence and high use of insecticides on orchards and, consequently, high stakes involved for any alternative. We conducted 30 comprehensive interviews with stakeholders (farmers and crop advisors) about their pest control strategies to explore their representation of their landscape and natural enemies. Our results show that natural enemies are considered by local stakeholders as public good resources, especially in the context of interventions by public institutions for their conservation, acclimation, and management. Farmers sometimes consider natural enemies as private goods when they can isolate the crop, enclosing it with nets or some other type of boundary. We also show that the landscape was not considered as a resource for biological pest control by conservation, but rather as a source of pests. We advocate for more research on the effects of landscapes on natural enemies, including participatory research based on dialogue among farmers, crop advisors, and scientists

Exploring synergies between farmers' livelihoods, forest conservation and social equity participatory simulations for creative negotiation in Thailand highlands

En dépit de l'usage croissant du concept de développement durable, les interactions entre ses trois piliers (environnementaux, économiques et sociaux) sont plus souvent pensées en termes de compromis qu'en termes de synergies. À partir d'une étude de cas sur un conflit autour de l'accès aux ressources foncières et forestières entre un parc national en cours d'établissement et deux villages dans les hautes terres du Nord de la Thaïlande, cet article montre que le concept de négociation intégrative peut être intéressant pour révéler des synergies potentielles entre la préservation de l'environnement, la subsistance des agriculteurs, et l'équité sociale. Dans cette étude de cas, des sessions participatives de simulations multi-agents ont favorisé l'émergence d'un mode de négociation créatif et intégratif entre différents types d'agriculteurs, des forestiers et des agents du parc national. Ces simulations ont permis aux différents protagonistes de reformuler le problème en jeu et de réaliser qu'ils avaient des intérêts en commun, notamment dans la limitation de la déforestation et la gestion des produits forestiers de collecte. (Résumé d'auteur

Incertitudes et controverses associées à la notion de service écosystémique

Because of its success, the concept of ecosystem services (ES) is increasingly taken for granted, without sufficient questioning of the strong uncertainties and controversies that surround it. In this paper, we consider this concept as socially constructed and we analyze the surrounding controversies in order to decipher the process through which it is constructed. From a literature review, we identify five main domains of controversies: (i) scientific uncertainties relating to causal relationships that underlie ES production, (ii) multiple understandings of the very concept of ES due to different representations of human-nature relationships, (iii) diverging opinions regarding the idea of valuing ES and the notion of value itself, (iv) conflicts of interests, power plays, and scale issues associated with the management of ES, and (v) controversies around the policy tools derived from the ES concept. In conclusion, we advocate for a greater engagement of human geographers in these debates. We emphasize in particular the need to study the complex social interdependences underlying ES dynamics, and to engage in participatory research exploring the potential of collaborative options for the management of ES. (Résumé d'auteur

Multi-Agent Simulations to Explore Rules for Rural Credit in a Highland Farming Community of Northern Thailand

International audienceMulti-agent systems (MAS) open new modelling and analysis perspectives in ecological and social sciences. An original characteristic of the Companion Modelling (ComMod) approach adopted in this case study is the co-construction and use of a MAS model with and for local stakeholders such as farmers and local administrators. Alternating iteratively field and modelling activities, this approach facilitates collective learning among local stakeholders and between them and the researchers. Combining the use of MAS models with Role-Playing Games (RPG), the described experiment aimed to facilitate collective decision-making in a socially heterogeneous community of small farmers in mountainous northern Thailand about the local rules for the allocation of rural credit to allow a more equitable and extensive process of expansion of non-erosive perennial crops in a watershed prone to erosion. This paper presents the MAS model and the results of a series of simulations exploring the ecological, social and economic effects of various rules for formal and informal credit suggested by the villagers-participants. Six scenarios considered as pertinent to further explore the participants' suggestions were defined based on different combinations among the following three variables: (i) Duration for the reimbursement of loans, (ii) Mode of allocation of formal credit among three different types of farms, (iii) Configuration of networks of acquaintances for access to informal credit. Drawing on this case study, we first elaborate on the potential of bottom-up models such as MAS to analyze the functioning of agricultural systems, in particular farm differentiation and rural credit dynamics. We highlight the ability of MAS to deal with interactions between social and ecological dynamics and to take into account social interactions, in particular the concept of social capital which is a determining factor when dealing with sustainability issues. The second question addressed in this paper deals with the potential and limits of MAS models to support a bottom-up (or participatory) modelling approach. This experiment suggests that the usefulness of models relies much more on the modelling process than on the model itself, because a model is usually useless if it is misunderstood by its potential users, or if it does not respond to their current preoccupations. The intuitive representation of real systems provided by MAS and their high flexibility are the two underlined characteristics favouring their appropriation by local stakeholders

Rethinking ecosystem services for biosphere reserves

As part of an intergovernmental scientific programme, and in line with the Lima Action Plan and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), biosphere reserves should be key places for sustainability science. In biosphere reserves, scientists should promote and implement partnerships with nonscientific stakeholders to undertake research and monitoring and work towards sustainable development. Stakeholders should be aware of the scientific priorities (especially those that are relevant for policy) and results. Equally, researchers – who are also citizens – should be aware of the local issues, and should also be able to work across different disciplinary fields.(Biosphere reserves and scientific partnerships

Using the concept of ecosystem services to foster social learning for concerted management of social ecological system: preliminary results from a case study in Mont Lozère, France

Mountain areas in Europe are facing important land use changes, mainly land abandonment combined with agriculture intensification. Mountains are known as multifunctional areas, and land use changes imply management trade-offs because some functions are improved to the detriment of others. It has been proved that social learning can contribute to tackling trade-offs in social-ecological systems by increasing the awareness of interdependencies, especially in multi-stakeholder dialogue processes. How can we foster social learning to inform choices about management of mountain farming systems? In this study, we make the hypothesis that using the concept of ecosystem service in multi-stakeholder dialogue processes can improve awareness of interdependencies, and thus social learning. To test this hypothesis, we study the case of Mont Lozère, Cévennes region, France, that is facing important land use change. We studied trade-offs among ecosystem services due to two agricultural practices: rock removal and ploughing of meadows. We designed a role-playing game to reveal hidden interdependencies between stakeholders, and to open dialogue about the governance of trade-offs between ecosystem services. The analysis of the game sessions is still in progress, but we identified three kinds of learning which seem to be fostered by the game: learning on the issue at stake, learning about others, and organizational learning