Using the Drylands Development Paradigm for translational ecology to overcome inequities and obstacles to sustainable development

Background/Question/Methods

In the wake of local, regional and global development, drylands are highly vulnerable to desertification. Sustainable dryland development in a rapidly changing world requires new research tools, framework of action and knowledge transfer between scientists and society at large. ARIDnet, an international network for the assessment, research, and integration of drylands desertification, has responded to this call. ARIDnet applies resilience and system theories and thus uses the Drylands Development Paradigm (DDP). The DDP is an analytical framework consisting of five principles aimed at analyzing the coupled spatiotemporal dynamics of complex social-ecological drylands. It emphasizes the need to account for the 1) interrelatedness of changes in the biophysical and socioeconomic dimensions of drylands, 2) slowly evolving processes, 3) non-linear dynamics and thresholds of slow variables, 4) cross-scale interactions, and 5) the integration knowledge systems. We implemented the DDP in case studies in the American continent with the goal to develop an integrated understanding of the local, regional and global drivers that influence the sustainability of livelihoods in drylands. We present the five principles of the DDP and how they have guided us to identify policy and management relevant knowledge and understanding of social-ecological systems dynamics in several case studies in Mexico’s drylands.

Results/Conclusions

Diverse disciplinary and institutional backgrounds, cultural connections, knowledge types of participants of workshops organized in semiarid and subhumid regions in Central Mexico facilitated a joint exploration of historical relationships among ecosystem functioning and livelihood development in terms of how they have influenced the demand for and supply of ecosystem services in these ecosystems. Key drivers, variables, feedbacks and actors operating at multiple spatiotemporal scales are often related to global market and policy processes that often lead to disproportional exploitation of single ecosystem goods or services resulting in significant trade-offs between short-term benefits and the long-term capacity of ecosystems to deliver goods and services to future generations. The most critical slow variables to reduce dryland vulnerability to unpredictable changes are their natural and social capital including biological, physical, socioeconomic functioning. Because of their low adaptive capacity, dryland systems have a low resilience in response to perturbations. Hence, it is fundamental to integrate, foster and exchange traditional, local and scientific knowledge among stakeholders as a basis for adaptive action and continuous mutual learning. As a conceptual framework, the DDP is a useful tool to build, bridge and communicate the emerging global environment, dryland development and sustainability sciences to society and decision-makers.