Resilience Assessment Workshops: A Biocultural Approach to Conservation Management of a Rural Landscape in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Kuang-Chung Lee, Polina G. Karimova, Shao-Yu Yan, Yee-Shien Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: resilience assessment workshops; socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (sepls); biocultural approach; participatory monitoring and evaluation; nature-based solutions
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/408

Local and indigenous communities play a crucial role in stewardship of biodiversity worldwide. Assessment of resilience in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) is an essential prerequisite for sustainable human−nature interactions in the area. This work examines application of resilience assessment workshops (RAWs) as a biocultural approach to conservation management in Xinshe SEPLS, Hualien County, Taiwan. RAWs were conducted in 2017−2018 in two indigenous communities—Amis Fuxing Dipit Tribe and Kavalan Xinshe Paterongan Tribe—as a part of an ongoing multi-stakeholder platform for the “Forest−River−Village−Sea Ecoagriculture Initiative” (the Initiative). Objectives of the study include (1) performing a baseline landscape resilience assessment in two communities and identifying their common and varying concerns and priorities, and (2) eliciting a community-driven vision for enhancement of the landscape resilience based on adjustments to the action plan of the Initiative. Assessment methodology employs 20 indicators of resilience in SEPLS jointly developed by the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and Biodiversity International; an “Explain−Score−Discuss−Suggest” model is applied. Results show that the communities’ primary issues of concern and adjustments to the action plan are related to biodiversity-based livelihoods, transfer of traditional knowledge, and sustainable use of common resources. The study concludes that this approach has a high potential to help facilitate nature-based solutions for human well-being and biodiversity benefits in Xinshe SEPLS.