Resilience in agroecosystems: an index based on a socioecological systems approach

This article presents an agroecosystem resilience index (ARI) relative to two types of exogenous drivers: biophysical and socioeconomic threats. The ARI is based on a theoretical framework of socioecological systems and draws upon multicriteria analysis. The multicriteria consists of variables related to natural, productive, socioeconomic, and institutional systems that are weighted and grouped through expert judgment. The index was operationalized in the Rio Grande Basin (RGB), in the Colombian Andes. The ARI was evaluated at the household level using information from 99 RGB households obtained through workshops, individual semistructured interviews, and surveys. The ARI is a continuous variable that ranges between zero and one and results in five categories of resilience: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. When faced with climate change impacts, 19% of households showed low resilience, 64% medium resilience, and 16% high resilience according to the ARI. When faced with price fluctuations, 23% of households showed low resilience, 65% medium resilience, and 11% high resilience. Key variables associated with high resilience include the diversity of vegetation cover, households that have forests on their properties, a high degree of connectivity with other patches of forest, diversification of household economic activities, profitability of economic activities, availability of water sources, and good relationship with local institutions.

Perceived Economic Value of Ecosystem Services in the US Rio Grande Basin

In recent decades, the US Rio Grande Basin has experienced serious ecosystem degradation as a result of recurring severe droughts and a growing population. Monetary valuation of ecosystem services is essential for encouraging conservation where natural resources such as freshwater are limited. Research in this field is still very limited, and economic estimations of ecosystem services in the US Rio Grande Basin have not been undertaken extensively. This study adds to the existing contemporary literature by means of the willingness-to-pay evaluation. We found the mean household wiliness to pay of total ecosystem services across the Rio Grande Basin to amount to USD 62/year, and the average perceived economic value was estimated to be USD 26.2, USD 19.7, USD 8.1, and USD 7.1 yearly for conservation of habitat for wildlife, provision of freshwater supplies, recreational activities, and cultural heritage, respectively. The income and perceptions about the importance of various ecosystem services in the Rio Grande Basin were among the main determinants of respondents’ assessments. The findings provide an appropriate foundation for incorporating perceived economic value into watershed management and conservation.