Systems Approach: Socio-Ecological Systems/Rural Livelihoods

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Climate variability and change, population increase, and agricultural intensification represent significant pressures on productive and ecologically valuable land in East Africa. Montane forests support high densities of populations and agricultural production, e.g. 1000 people per km2 in the Chagga home-gardens of Kilimanjaro (Hemp, 2013). Such Multifunctional Agricultural Landscape Mosaics (MALM) support high levels of biodiversity while also underpinning local livelihoods and regional food security (Miner et al., 2015). In addition to provisioning services, there is an important role for montane forest in the regulation for water, carbon, soil productivity, pollination and pest control (Swetnam et al., 2013). Hence, MALM can provide an agricultural land use matrix in which all critical aspects of sustainability (ecological, social, economic, political and cultural) are incorporated.In a context of unprecedented climatic change and social pressure on ecosystems, how the ecosystem services of these MALM systems are best distributed and managed for the multifaceted purposes of climate change adaptation and socio-economic sustainability is a complex and challenging question. Improved understanding of MALM system dynamics and responses to environmental change could underpin informed community-based management, policy, and interventions that enhance integrated water and land management processes, and improve agro-ecosystems function and productivity. But, it is increasingly recognised that successful management of natural resources and adaptation to change within such complex systems depends too on processes for knowledge sharing and co-production, the potential for which is shaped by social, cultural and political relations between diverse stakeholders (Whitfield, 2016).Here, the combining of the local and experiential knowledge of residents and land managers with the techniques and tools of socio-ecological system mapping offer a means to building a holistic and appropriate evidence base to inform management. Critical reflection on social dynamics and incomplete knowledge politics will essential for achieving just outcomes within such management.ObjectivesTo assess the interrelated functions and services of MALM in the Taita Hills of southern Kenya by mapping, through participatory GIS, the agricultural land use matrix.To evaluate nature-based adaptation practices (afforestation, conservation agriculture, irrigation and water management, and integrated pest management) against projected future change and locally prioritized needs (e.g. for achieving food security, providing livelihood opportunities, maintaining biodiversity, and fulfilling cultural, aesthetic, conservation and recreational needs).To critically reflect on the way that politics and social dynamic splay out within this process of knowledge generation and management