Comparative Analysis of Agri-Food Systems for Extensive Livestock in the High Pyrenees and Creation of a Multicriterian Tool for Its Evaluation

The main objective of this study is to compare the different agri-food systems of extensive livestock (ecological and conventional) of big and small ruminants (cattle and sheep respectively) in high Pyrenees. This objective is formulated by looking at the general lack of knowledge of the population regarding the functionality of these systems, the changes of management that have been introduced in the recent years, especially in terms of commercialization, and the different capacity of response of extensive livestock systems to climate change and other socio-economic complementary changes. Attributes and indicators have been selected for the comparative evaluation of livestock systems, focusing on three political perspectives ecofeminism, adaptation to climate change and food sovereignty. The methodology adopted is mixed, including secondary databases and interviews for the analysis of extensive livestock agri-food systems and a series of participatory workshops with scientists and women livestock operators to select indicators that allow to highlight different critical points along the chain to compare agri-food systems. Four archetypes of each agri-food system studied were identified by following the product of meat from extensive livestock management of bovine and sheep. Although there are several differences between the organic and conventional beef and sheep meat systems, similarities have also been found. Sheep production, and in particular organic production, is the simplest, is the most traditional and shortest chain system. A set of 123 indicators have been identified by the dialogue between researchers and practitioners, grouped in 9 dimensions. When evaluating these systems, so far there have been many aspects that have not been valued or have been invisible, especially in the dimension of Dignified life and Social equity. There are also certain gaps of information, that should be filled in future research

Structuring wicked problems in transdisciplinary research using the Social-Ecological Systems framework: an application to the montado system, Alentejo, Portugal

The aspiration to establish an effective dialogue between science and society has inspired some ground breaking examples of transdisciplinarity (TD). The core idea of TD is that different academic disciplines work jointly with practitioners to solve common problems. The first step of TD implies a contextualization that requires holistic and systemic thinking. To achieve this contextualization, we applied the Social–Ecological Systems (SES) framework with the aim of developing TD to deal with the recorded decline in area and tree density of the montado land-use system located in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The study was based both on a literature review and on the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected in a number of research projects on the montado. The results show that the lack of consensus regarding the system boundaries, the diverse range of mental models, and the disconnection between policymaking and system singularities are some of the conditions that can hinder TD efforts. The framework allowed the identification of knowledge gaps that limit the understanding of the problem complexity to be dealt with by a TD research process. There is a need to gain a better understanding of the governance system, and to characterize the different types of agro-silvo-pastoral combinations that can be designated as montado. With this detailed understanding, a tailored TD process can be designed. This work argues for the active use of the SES framework in TD in environmental management. Future research could focus on the framework’s utility in developing tools to assess and monitor transdisciplinary research

The agri-food system (re)configuration: the case study of an agroecological network in the Ecuadorian Andes

[EN] Social Ecological System (SES) research highlights the importance of understanding the potential of collective actions, among other factors, when it comes to influencing the transformative (re)configuration of agri-food systems in response to global change. Such a response may result in different desired outcomes for those actors who promote collective action, one such outcome being food sovereignty. In this study, we used an SES framework to describe the configuration of local agri-food systems in Andean Ecuador in order to understand which components of the SES interact, and how they support outcomes linked to five food sovereignty goals. Through a survey administered to mestizo and indigenous peasants, we analyze the key role played by the Agroecological Network of Loja (RAL) in transforming the local agri-food system through the implementation of a Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). This study demonstrates that participation in the RAL and PGS increases farmers' adoption of agroecological practices, as well as their independence from non-traditional food. Additionally, RAL lobbying with the municipality significantly increases households' on-farm income through access to local markets. Being part of indigenous communities also influences the configuration of the food system, increasing the participation in community work and access to credit and markets, thus positively affecting animal numbers, dairy production and income diversification. The complexity of the interactions described suggests that more research is needed to understand which key factors may foster or prevent the achieving of food sovereignty goals and promote household adaptation amid high uncertainty due to global change.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. We thank Narcisa Medina and Rovin Andrade, local leaders of the rural Andean parishes Jimbilla and San Lucas of the Loja canton; and, Nancy Huaca, coordinator of the groecological Network of Loja (RAL); who have shown their aperture for carrying out the research in eight communities of their locality and have shared their experiences and knowledges. This research was part of a PhD study funded by the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT) of Ecuadorian government. The corresponding author has been funded by AXA Research Fund (2016) and Ramón i Cajal fellowship (RYC2018-025958-I) funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, nnovación y Universidades (Spain)Vallejo-Rojas, V.; Rivera-Ferre, MG.; Ravera, F. (2022). The agri-food system (re)configuration: the case study of an agroecological network in the Ecuadorian Andes. Agriculture and Human Values. 39(4):1301-1327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10318-11301132739

Reflexivity, embodiment, and ethics of care in rangeland political ecology: reflections of three feminist researchers on the experience of transdisciplinary knowledge co-production

Although there is a growing interest in transdisciplinary knowledge co-production approaches applied to rangeland political ecology, the research paradigms and methodologies still dominating this field of research leave little room for equitable engagement with research participants and genuine action-oriented research. In this article, we provide a reflection on new practices grounded in feminist studies of science and care ethic literature to orient transgressive and engaged transdisciplinary political rangeland ecology research. Feminist epistemologies call for reflection on who produces knowledge and how such knowledge is used and shared. Feminist practices, such as reflexivity, embodiment, reciprocity, and care, cultivate awareness of the power dynamics embedded in the research process and motivate researchers to counteract asymmetrical or extractive relationships when we identify them. We first introduce the scholarship that inspires key principles of our feminist research approach and then reflect on our experiences as researchers and as activists working with Spanish and Catalan networks of women pastoralists. Three research questions guide our reflective process: (i) how can feminist theories of knowledge co-production contribute to rangeland political ecology; (ii) how can feminist methodologies be applied in practice so that collaboration between women pastoralists, their organizations, and researchers is mutually reinforcing, care-full, and action-oriented; and (iii) what are the challenges and limitations of our experiences to foster transformation and emancipation in knowledge co-production processes

Proceso y métodos de evaluación integrada participativa de degradación en agroecosistemas semiáridos. Un caso de estudio en un área protegida en el trópico seco nicaragüense

Los procesos de evaluación integrada y participativa son un buen marco metodológico-operativo para la toma de decisiones frente a cuestiones ambientales complejas que conciernen a socio-agroecosistemas de alto dinamismo e impredecibilidad a cambios y con intereses conflictivos de los actores implicados en su gestión. La finalidad del artículo es mostrar el potencial de la aplicación de un enfoque interdisciplinar e intercultural para desarrollar un proceso multiescala y multiobjetivo de evaluación comprehensiva y critica de la degradación ambiental de un sistema agrosilvopastoril semiárido en Nicaragua. Pese a que se trate de un proceso en curso, el artículo describe y reflexiona sobre los resultados metodológicos de los primeros dos años y discute como la combinación de métodos desde diferentes disciplinas y la integración de conocimientos han permitido explicitar las incertidumbres e ignorancias sobre la comprensión del sistema y los procesos de cambios socio-ecológicos locales, plantear y validar nuevas hipótesis de trabajo e obtener exactitud y relevancia de la evaluación de degradación. Asimismo el proceso participativo intenta incluir, en cada fase, la pluralidad de actores, con sus intereses y valoraciones y representaciones de futuro, para asegurar la calidad del proceso. Finalmente, el análisis de escenarios se demuestra útil instrumento para aclarar las posibles interfases de conflicto y compromiso o negociación entre actores, investigadores y tomadores de decisiones sobre opciones alternativas de gestión y desarrollo para el área.Nicaragua, trópico seco, sistemas agrosilvopastoriles, evaluación participativa e integrada de sostenibilidad, escenarios

Proceso y métodos de evaluación integrada participativa de degradación en agroecosistemas semiáridos. Un caso de estudio en un área protegida en el trópico seco nicaragüense

Los procesos de evaluación integrada y participativa son un buen marco metodológico-operativo para la toma de decisiones frente a cuestiones ambientales complejas que conciernen a socio-agroecosistemas de alto dinamismo e impredecibilidad a cambios y con intereses conflictivos de los actores implicados en su gestión. La finalidad del artículo es mostrar el potencial de la aplicación de un enfoque interdisciplinar e intercultural para desarrollar un proceso multiescala y multiobjetivo de evaluación comprehensiva y critica de la degradación ambiental de un sistema agrosilvopastoril semiárido en Nicaragua. Pese a que se trate de un proceso en curso, el artículo describe y reflexiona sobre los resultados metodológicos de los primeros dos años y discute como la combinación de métodos desde diferentes disciplinas y la integración de conocimientos han permitido explicitar las incertidumbres e ignorancias sobre la comprensión del sistema y los procesos de cambios socio-ecológicos locales, plantear y validar nuevas hipótesis de trabajo e obtener exactitud y relevancia de la evaluación de degradación. Asimismo el proceso participativo intenta incluir, en cada fase, la pluralidad de actores, con sus intereses y valoraciones y representaciones de futuro, para asegurar la calidad del proceso. Finalmente, el análisis de escenarios se demuestra útil instrumento para aclarar las posibles interfases de conflicto y compromiso o negociación entre actores, investigadores y tomadores de decisiones sobre opciones alternativas de gestión y desarrollo para el área.The integrated and participatory assessment processes are a good methodological and operational framework for decision making, facing to complexity on environmental issues when agro-ecosystems are highly dynamics and unpredictable to changes and there are plural and conflictive interests. This paper aims to investigate the potencial for such interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to develop a comprehensive and constructive multiscale and multiobjetive process of land degradation assessment in semiarid agro-ecosystems. Since the overall process is still on going, the research, applied to a case study in Nicaragua, describes and reflects on the experience through the first two years of work. The article argues that the integration between scientific and lay knowledge allows facing the uncertainties and ignorance in understanding complex systems and main processes of change, to propose and validate research hypothesis and to lead to both accurate and relevant assessment of land degradation. The participatory approach, using methods from a variety of disciplines, attempts to capture the plurality of relevant actors, with different objectives, values and representations of future, in order to assure quality of the process. Finally, the paper illustrates the usefulness of scenario analysis to explore the "arenas" of conflicts and negotiation between researchers, actors and decision makers on alternative management and development policies options

Climate Science, Development Practice, and Policy Interactions in Dryland Agroecological Systems

The literature on drought, livelihoods, and poverty suggests that dryland residents are especially vulnerable to climate change. However, assessing this vulnerability and sharing lessons between dryland communities on how to reduce vulnerability has proven difficult because of multiple definitions of vulnerability, complexities in quantification, and the temporal and spatial variability inherent in dryland agroecological systems. In this closing editorial, we review how we have addressed these challenges through a series of structured, multiscale, and interdisciplinary vulnerability assessment case studies from drylands in West Africa, southern Africa, Mediterranean Europe, Asia, and Latin America. These case studies adopt a common vulnerability framework but employ different approaches to measuring and assessing vulnerability. By comparing methods and results across these cases, we draw out the following key lessons: (1) Our studies show the utility of using consistent conceptual frameworks for vulnerability assessments even when quite different methodological approaches are taken; (2) Utilizing narratives and scenarios to capture the dynamics of dryland agroecological systems shows that vulnerability to climate change may depend more on access to financial, political, and institutional assets than to exposure to environmental change; (3) Our analysis shows that although the results of quantitative models seem authoritative, they may be treated too literally as predictions of the future by policy makers looking for evidence to support different strategies. In conclusion, we acknowledge there is a healthy tension between bottom-up/ qualitative/place-based approaches and top-down/quantitative/generalizable approaches, and we encourage researchers from different disciplines with different disciplinary languages, to talk, collaborate, and engage effectively with each other and with stakeholders at all levels

Contributions of Iberian Silvo-Pastoral Landscapes to the Well-Being of Contemporary Society

Assessments of society’s perceptions of rangeland systems offer insights into the motivations, cultural beliefs, and values that can support landscape conservation and the everyday decisions of landowners. Silvo-pastoral landscapes, the grazed oak woodlands known as montado in Portugal and dehesa in Spain, are the main rangelands of southwestern Iberia. At the interface of complex interactions between natural processes and human activities, they have potential to deliver multiple services at the ecosystem level. However, the actual rendering of their potential to the well-being of contemporary society has not been comprehensively documented. This paper aims to enrich research perspectives and identify benefits and challenging aspects of silvo-pastoral landscapes through the lens of society well-being. An integrated socioecological perspective is used to examine one case study in Portugal and one in Spain. To better understand their context, montado and dehesa are assessed relative to other landscape types in the studied areas. A qualitative approach assesses tangible but also intangible aspects. The interviewed stakeholders include members of rural communities, public authorities, land managers, and researchers. Results reveal similar benefits and challenges in montado and dehesa. Interviewees considered them to have numerous sociocultural and environmental benefits. These were mainly regulatory services but also intangible benefits such as cultural identity, aesthetic qualities, and local knowledge. Nevertheless, a rendering of their full potential to society well-being has numerous challenges. These systems were believed to struggle economically, due to the low prices for the goods produced and a high dependence on subsidies. Their environmental vulnerability was also highlighted. Critical challenges for future research and policy interventions are identified for both case studies. Moreover, we encourage the wider application of approaches to rangelands focusing on well-being, as they provide a complement to ecological and economic perspectives that can improve understanding of social-ecological systems

Identifying past social-ecological thresholds to understand long-term temporal dynamics in Spain

A thorough understanding of long-term temporal social-ecological dynamics at the national scale helps to explain the current condition of a country’s ecosystems and to support environmental policies to tackle future sustainability challenges. We aimed to develop a methodological approach to understand past long-term (1960-2010) social-ecological dynamics in Spain. First, we developed a methodical framework that allowed us to explore complex social-ecological dynamics among biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being, drivers of change, and institutional responses. Second, we compiled 21 long-term, national-scale indicators and analyzed their temporal relationships through a redundancy analysis. Third, we used a Bayesian change point analysis to detect evidence of past social-ecological thresholds and historical time periods. Our results revealed that Spain has passed through four socialecological thresholds that define five different time periods of nature and society relationships. Finally, we discussed how the proposed methodological approach helps to reinterpret national-level ecosystem indicators through a new conceptual lens to develop a more systems-based way of understanding long-term social-ecological patterns and dynamicsThis work was supported by the Biodiversity Foundation (http://www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es/) of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Partial financial support was also provided by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (project CGL2014-53782-P: ECOGRADIENTES). The Spanish National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA) funded Marina García-Llorente as part of the European Social Fund. Blanca González García-Mon participated in this article as a “la Caixa” Banking Foundation scholar. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the report, or the decision to submit the study for publicatio