Resilience in Agroecosystems: An Index Based on a Socioecological Systems Approach

Abstract

Abstract 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 consist 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 0 and 1 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% showed medium resilience, and 16% showed high resilience according to the ARI. When faced with price fluctuations, 23% of households showed low resilience, 65% showed medium resilience, and 11% showed 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 relationships with local institutions.