CEEweb's Resilience Analysis Framework is out!
Have a look at our new workbook aimed toward helping stakeholders in agrarian landscapes to increase resilience and maintain mutually beneficial cooperation between humans and nature.
We are pleased to announce the publication of CEEweb’s resilience analysis framework! This workbook is a result of our two-year project focusing on agroecosystem resilience in Central and Eastern Europe. We have conducted three participatory resilience assessments in Hungary and our methodology was refined after each series of workshops. Our goal was to publish a methodology that is accessible, participatory and tailored to European agricultural systems. This approach allowed us to simplify the workshop manual compared to other resilience assessment methods — as ours does not need to satisfy the needs of many ecosystem types and cultural contexts. This enables our workbook to be used by people who have no or very little formal training in resilience, and who have little experience in facilitating workshops.
The methodology was constructed building on the Resilience Assessment Workbook by the Resilience Alliance, the Wayfinder workbook by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Resilience Alliance and the Australian Resilience Centre, and, finally, the RAPTA framework by CSIRO. The final format of the workshop was informed by practical testing of the process and is accompanied by a short implementation manual sharing experiences from a practical/technical point of view.
When a resilience analysis is conducted, results very much depend on the participants. It is important to involve a diverse set of stakeholders, and if conflicts around land use occur, all sides need to influence the process. In practice, this approach is often hard to implement and sometimes controversial for conservation experts who are most often starting these projects. Yet, as long as not all stakeholders participate in the process, not much lasting result can be expected.
If the workshop series goes well, the result is a few scenarios that outline possible future challenges and development pathways, while the steps that need to be taken reflect on past changes and path dependencies. The strategic level pathway towards a resilient future usually involves (1) some more discussion and awareness-raising around land-use conflicts, (2) the need for monitoring, planning and future scientific research, (3) first steps on a small scale to demonstrate the viability of the desired scenario, and (4) necessary policy changes that enable the larger-scale transition of the system. These four steps all have to be addressed. Having a strategic plan also supports future fundraising efforts.