Resilience thinking and
agricultural biodiversity governance –
towards a system approach for catalyzing desired change
Pernilla Malmer, Senior Advisor
The Resilience and Development Programme,
Stockholm Resilience Centre
Stockholm Resilience Centre
• Advances transdisciplinary
research for governance of
social-ecological systems
• A special emphasis on
resilience – the ability to deal
with change and continue to
develop
Planetary boundaries
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Food for a growing world population within the planetary
boundaries will require a new ‘planetary food revolution’
Aichi target 7
By 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture
and forestry are managed sustainably,
ensuring conservation of biodiversity.
Resilience thinking
Resilience – the capacity
of a system to deal with
change and continue to
develop
Social ecological systems
Adaptation
Transformation
Why social-ecological
resilience?
1. Human well-being is underpinned by
ecosystems
2. Human activities are strong drivers of
ecosystem change
3. People can and do act as stewards of their
environment
The challenge of transformation
of agricultural systems
Increasing yields
needs not translate
into bioidversity
loss or more land
spared for nature
Agroecological intensification
Tscharntke, T., et al. Biological Conservation 2012
Relations between people and nature
are complex
• Cannot manage social and ecological
systems in isolation
• History is important and place matters
• Ecosystems change and evolve
• We change, adapt and innovate
Causal loop analysis
From E. Enfors. 2009
How to maintain
social-ecological resilience?
• Learn to live with change and
uncertainty
• Combine different sources of
knowledge
• Facilitate self-organization
• Nurture diverse sources for
renewal and reorganization
Folke et al. 2003
What is resilience?
‘Resilience is the
ability of a community to
withstand negative internal
and external pressures and
threats. Resilience enables
adaptation and strength,
coherence and
intergenerational learning.
Communities can be
resilient when they are
empowered and clear about
their future and can act
together to protect their
rights’.
African Biodiversity Network
Quote from African Biodiversity Network: www.africanbiodiversity.org
How do transformations take place?
Regreening of the Sahel
Farmers appear to have actively managed their land in ways that contribute to regreening, and also enhanced productivity.
The Tigray experience
An approach based on sound ecological principles can
enable farmers to overcome environmental constraints
such as erosion, poor soil fertility and build household food
security on a sustainable basis.
Kenvo and the Kijabe landscape – an
ecoagriculture approach
The question that KENVO is grappling with now is how
best to measure the landscape in terms of agricultural
production and socioeconomic (livelihood) welfare
Participatory plantbreeding –
linking action research to global policy
Sustainable agricultural
intensification
What needs to be done
• Watch out for planetary boundaries
• Food is creation from cultural and biological
diversity – place based, diverse
• Food security policies for resilient and
productive agricultural systems and
landscapes must emphasize and build on an
increase in agroecologic capacity.
Thank you
Pernilla Malmer
Stockholm Resilience Centre
pernilla.malmer@stockholmresilience.su.se
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