Resilience – the ability to adapt to stress and adversity -is a relatively new concept when it comes to how people and ecosystems survive adverse weather conditions. The Resilience 2014 conference being held from 5-8 May in Montpellier, France is hoping to change this through vigorous debate on how societies transform, adapt and develop in the face of change.

The conference will explore what it terms the resilience of social and ecological systems (SES). This is essentially how societies and their environment adapt or change in response to climate, economic and social change, including financial and food crises. After all, people depend on ecological systems for their survival and in turn, they continuously impact on these systems.

What role then do trees play in building resilience; helping people and ecosystems bounce back from adverse conditions, such as we are likely to increasingly see due to the effects of climate change.

“We have known for a long time that agroforestry can enhance resilience,” says Jan de Leeuw, Drylands Scientist with the World Agroforestry Centre. “For example, trees in livestock-keeping and cropping systems provide people with diversified incomes, with food and fodder when crops fail, and they can help improve soil health.”

“This type of resilience is absolutely critical in areas such as the drylands of East Africa where communities are struggling to cope with more frequent droughts and flash floods.”

Until recently, the exact contribution of trees to resilience in this region had been poorly explored, but in 2013 the assessment report, Treesilience was published. It compiles what experts in research, academia, government, farmers and development practitioners already know about the links between trees and resilience in East Africa’s drylands.

Rather than simply looking at the goods which trees provide, the report takes an ecosystem services approach to “do justice to the direct and indirect benefits people derive from trees in drylands,” explains de Leeuw, lead editor of Treesilience.

There are provisioning services from trees, such as timber, fuel, fodder, food and medicines but also regulating and supporting services such as soil nutrients, soil moisture, biodiversity and the regulation of water cycles. Trees also have an important role in providing cultural services, linked closely with religion and spirituality.

Several recommendations are contained in the report, including the need to support and expand knowledge on trees and resilience in East African drylands. It is suggested that tenure security and institutions need to be strengthened to support sustainable tree management and capacity built for integrating resilience into research and development projects.

“We found that natural resource management projects in the region rarely reported on or disseminated the resilience provided by their tree-based interventions.”

“Resilience is still too new a concept to be included in policies and by institutions, and this needs to change if trees are to reach their full potential in enhancing resilience and contributing to economic development in the region.”

During Resilience 2014, an entire afternoon has been dedicated to ‘Agroforestry and ecosystem services’ and this will be held at Restinclières, the oldest and most documented agroforestry experiment in Europe.

Studies at Restinclières have shown that a 100 hectare agroforestry farm produces as much as a traditional farm of 130 to 160 hectares where trees and crops are grown separately. This finding has led to modification of the European Common Agriculture Policy towards agroforestry.

Research on carbon sequestration, water quality protection and biodiversity at Restinclières will be discussed during the session in addition to what policies and governance mechanisms are required to support agroforestry and other measures that maintain and improve environmental services.

Download the Treesilience report:

De Leeuw J, Njenga M, Wagner B and Iiyama M (2014). Treesilience – An assessment of the resilience provided by trees in the drylands of Eastern Africa. World Agroforestry Centre. Nairobi, Kenya.

Visit the Resilience 2014 conference website

Photo: Women collect firewood in Central Oromia, Ethiopia. Photo: Miyuki Iiyama.