Rebuilding social-ecological relationships through farming systems
By rebuilding relationships between researchers and farmers, trust and respect was built within the communities.
Dr Georgina McAllister / Coventry University
Key outcomes from the conference discussion
Natural disasters can have implications for food security, health, stability, safety and security of individuals and communities. Communities can be re-built through socio-ecological interactions (e.g. farming communities).
Environmental implications of negative change are worse especially for the poor, rural and vulnerable communities.
Social-ecological collapse can involve challenges to food security and land use change. That implies that the gap between the rich and the poor and vulnerable groups could widen as a result of the collapse.
Background
Communities of agro ecological practice are linked to stresses and shocks. These stresses and shocks include resilience, choices and decisions in agro ecosystem, which then translate into the power to effect change. By learning to pool skills and perform collectively, this builds further capacity and impetus for ongoing action.
Perceptions of self/collective-efficacy influence human development. This enables adaptation to change, which results in a belief in being producers of experience and the shapers of events.
Discussion
At the 2019 conference, Dr Georgina McAllister, from Coventry University, shared her experience of working and doing research at a rural region in Zimbabwe, southern Africa’s post disaster hurricane.
She explained the drivers for social-ecological systems breakdown in different contexts. The roles of researchers, practitioners and local communities in facilitating inclusive processes to reinvigorate these relationships.
