Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems

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ISBN: 9781420072778 | 1420072773
Cover: Hardcover
Copyright: 6/10/2008

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Exploring the implementation of participatory, multistakeholder, and transdisciplinary ecosystem health research, Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems combines the latest theories in complexity and management with practical tools and approaches for sustainable rural development research. A Although the text focuses on smallholder farming communities in the central highlands of Kenya, the material discussed can bea??and has beena??effectively applied to agroecosystems in many other parts of the world. After showing how the agroecosystem health framework was successfully adapted in a smallholder-dominated agroecosystem, the book integrates participatory methods, systems analyses, pulse process models, and soft systems methods in an open-ended, adaptive R&D process. It then looks at how to use correspondence analysis to refine a research-based suite of indicators and analyze data obtained using indicators. Incorporating the authorsa??pioneering work in the ecosystem health field, this book demonstrates the potential of the agroecosystem health paradigm as a framework in the decision-making processes of agricultural communities in a tropical highlands area.

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
The Authors	p. xv
Overview	p. xvii
General Introduction	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Global Context	p. 2
Sustainability	p. 4
Definitions	p. 4
Assessment and Implementation	p. 5
Agroecosystem Health	p. 5
Systems Theory	p. 7
The Health Concept	p. 8
Assessment and Implementation	p. 10
Indicators	p. 11
Selection of Indicators	p. 12
The Kiambu Agroecosystem	p. 13
External Environment	p. 13
Internal Environment	p. 14
Potential Indicators	p. 15
Justification	p. 16
References	p. 17
Design and Implementation of an Adaptive, Integrated Approach to Health and Sustainability in a Smallholder-Dominated Agroecosystem	p. 25
Introduction	p. 25
Research Strategy and Methods	p. 27
Secondary Data and Holarchical Scales	p. 29
Sampling Study Sites	p. 30
Systemic Description and Action Planning	p. 31
Indicators	p. 32
Community-Driven Indicators	p. 32
Selection of Research-Based Indicators	p. 32
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Assessment	p. 33
Community-Based Assessments	p. 33
Research-Based Assessments	p. 33
Implementation of Interventions	p. 33
Community Training	p. 34
Community-Based Development Interventions	p. 34
Results	p. 34
Holarchical Scales	p. 36
Study Sites	p. 37
Systemic Description	p. 38
Demographic Features	p. 38
Geoclimatic Features	p. 38
Resource Use and Distribution	p. 38
Agriculture	p. 42
Agroecosystem Health Goals	p. 48
Health and Sustainability Assessment	p. 49
Implementation of Interventions	p. 49
Discussion	p. 49
Holarchical Scale	p. 49
Systemic Description	p. 51
The Agroecosystem Health Approach	p. 52
Health and Sustainability Assessment	p. 53
References	p. 54
Community Participation and the Integration of Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability Concerns into Practical Decision Making	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
Process and Methods	p. 60
Community Identities	p. 60
Initial Contact with Communities in the Study Sites	p. 61
Initial Village Participatory Workshops	p. 61
Participatory Techniques	p. 63
Participatory Mapping	p. 63
Institutional Mapping	p. 64
Historical Background	p. 65
Time Lines	p. 65
Trend Lines	p. 65
Transect Walks	p. 66
Semistructured Interviews	p. 66
Seasonal Calendars	p. 66
Daily Activity Charts	p. 67
Focus Group Discussions	p. 67
Presentations and Analysis	p. 67
Wealth Ranking	p. 68
Health Analysis	p. 68
Problem Identification and Ranking	p. 68
Problem Analysis	p. 69
Preference Ranking	p. 69
Action Planning	p. 69
Follow-up	p. 69
Creating Cognitive Maps	p. 70
Developing Community-Based Indicators	p. 70
Monitoring, Evaluation, Planning, and Assessments	p. 70
Results	p. 70
Community Identities	p. 71
Participatory Mapping	p. 71
Institutional Mapping	p. 71
Historical Background and Time Lines	p. 71
Profiles and Trends	p. 72
Trend Lines	p. 72
Transect Walks and Semistructured Interviews	p. 76
Wealth and Well-Being	p. 76
Health Analysis	p. 80
Problem Analysis and Action Planning	p. 81
Problem Identification, Ranking, and Analyses	p. 81
Preference Ranking and Action Planning	p. 82
Follow-Up	p. 82
Collective Action	p. 82
Reflection and Replanning	p. 82
Discussion	p. 84
Community Identities and Collective Action	p. 87
Community Participation	p. 87
Systemic Descriptions	p. 88
Problem Analyses and Action Plans	p. 89
Monitoring and Evaluation	p. 89
References	p. 89
Use of Systems Theory, Directed Graphs, and Pulse Process Models in an Adaptive Approach to Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability	p. 91
Introduction	p. 91
Process and Methods	p. 93
Participatory Cognitive Mapping	p. 94
Geometric Analyses	p. 95
Pulse Process Models	p. 96
Application of System Theory Tools in Villages	p. 98
Results	p. 98
Githima	p. 99
Gitangu	p. 104
Kiawamagira	p. 109
Mahindi	p. 110
Gikabu	p. 113
Thiririka	p. 117
Discussion	p. 122
Construction of Cognitive Maps	p. 122
Use of Signed Digraphs	p. 122
Geometric Analyses	p. 123
Pulse Process Models	p. 124
Assessment of Value Stability	p. 124
References	p. 125
Soft System Methodology in the Management of Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability Concerns of a Tropical Highlands Agroecosystem	p. 127
Introduction	p. 127
Process and Methods	p. 129
Examination of the Problem Situations	p. 129
Root Definitions and Soft System Modeling	p. 129
Building Consensus, Compromise, and Collective Action	p. 130
Results	p. 130
Problem Situations	p. 130
Drainage and Access Road Problems in Kiawamagira	p. 130
Gitangu Water Project	p. 131
Inadequate Extension Services in Kiambu District	p. 134
Community Inertia in Kiambu District	p. 136
Building Consensus and Root Definitions	p. 136
Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation	p. 137
Discussion	p. 139
Soft System Models	p. 139
Collective Action, Action Research, and Soft System Methodology	p. 143
References	p. 145
Development of Health and Sustainability Indicators for a Tropical Highlands Agroecosystem	p. 147
Introduction	p. 147
Process and Methods	p. 148
Development of Community-Driven Indicators	p. 149
Development of Researcher-Proposed Indicators	p. 151
Indicator Measurements	p. 152
Community-Driven Indicators	p. 152
Researcher-Proposed Indicators	p. 152
Refining Researcher-Proposed Indicators	p. 153
Results	p. 153
Community-Driven Indicators	p. 153
Researcher-Proposed Indicators	p. 155
Indicator Measurement and Refinement	p. 158
Community Driven	p. 158
Researcher Proposed	p. 159
Comparison of Indicator Suites	p. 167
Discussion	p. 170
Comparison of Indicator Suites	p. 170
Indicator Measurement and Refinement	p. 174
Practicality and Application	p. 177
References	p. 178
An Assessment of Health and Sustainability of a Smallholder-Dominated Tropical Highlands Ecosystem	p. 181
Introduction	p. 181
Process and Methods	p. 182
Spatial and Temporal Trends in the Indicators	p. 182
Evaluation of Goals, Expectations, and Achievements	p. 183
Results	p. 184
Spatial Trends in the Researcher-Proposed Indicators	p. 184
Evaluation of Temporal Trends in the Researcher-Proposed Indicators	p. 185
Evaluation of Goals, Expectations, and Achievements	p. 187
Discussion	p. 190
Spatial and Temporal Trends in the Indicators	p. 190
Evaluation of Goals, Expectations, and Achievements	p. 193
References	p. 196
General Discussion	p. 197
Synopsis	p. 197
Sustainability	p. 197
Agroecosystem Health	p. 198
Kiambu Agroecosystem	p. 199
Health and Sustainability Assessment	p. 200
Summary	p. 201
General Conclusions	p. 203
Appendices	p. 205
Questionnaire Used to Carry Out a Census of All the Land-Use Units in the Village	p. 206
Questionnaire Used for Indicator Measurement at the Land-Use Unit Level	p. 208
Index	p. 223
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