2
task, academic and government institutions founded the Agadir Platform as a coordinating instrument for cooperation in the Global South. As focal node of this platform, Mexico established the first international network to co-generate knowledge
through transdisciplinary research partnerships. We present the conceptual framework of this network highlighting 1) the socio-ecological system’s approach, 2) the
transdisciplinary scope of participatory research, 3) the intercultural action scheme,
and 4) the repercussions of this integrated approach on polycentric governance. This
book includes diverse examples of the application of this framework in DSES ranging from co-designing socio-ecological development projects, to adaptive management, and policy development.
Keywords RISZA · Transdisciplinary networks · Co-designed projects · Arid lands
· Participative research · South-South and triangular cooperation
Drylands are the largest biome complex on Planet Earth and home to over 40% of the
human population. Their extraordinary high biotic and cultural richness is endangered by global climate change, land use pressures including coastal/marine systems,
and environmental degradation. Understanding and maintaining the functional integrity of dryland socio-ecological systems (DSES) is fundamental for sustainable
development. It requires resilience-based dryland stewardship, where land users,
managers and decision-makers incorporate change, as understood from the multiple
actors’ perspective of a SES, into their planning and governance. The linkage of
America’s drylands with west Africa and Southern Europe is often overseen, however increasing economic activities in these DSES have enormous impacts on their
functional integrity. In response to this daunting task, academic and government
institutions founded the Agadir Platform as a coordinating instrument for cooperation in the Global South. As focal node of this platform, Mexico established the first
international network to co-generate knowledge through transdisciplinary research
partnerships. We present the conceptual framework of this network highlighting 1)
the socio-ecological system’s approach, 2) the transdisciplinary scope of participatory research, 3) the intercultural action scheme, and 4) the repercussions of this
integrated approach on polycentric governance. This book includes diverse examples
of the application of this framework in DSES ranging from co-designing socio-ecological development projects, to adaptive management, and policy development.
Aridity is often characterized by an aridity index (AI) (Thomas and Middleton
1992), calculated as annual precipitation divided by annual potential evapotranspiration, and ranges from a minimum of 0.05 to a maximum of 0.65 (Hulme 1996; Safriel
et al. 2005). Based on the AI drylands can be classified as hyperarid, arid, semi-arid,
and dry sub-humid (UNCCD 1994). In comparison to other biomes, life in the drylands
has evolved under highly variable precipitation, extreme water scarcity, pronounced
fluctuations in diurnal temperatures, and extended exposure to high levels of solar
radiation (Noy-Meir 1973). These factors continuously exert strong selection pressures
on specialized life forms (Whitford 2002). However, there is an exceptionally high species diversity across all categories of biota that contributes to varied ecosystems that
span from coastal drylands to intracontinental basins and highland plateaus.
E. Huber-Sannwald et al.
task, academic and government institutions founded the Agadir Platform as a coordinating instrument for cooperation in the Global South. As focal node of this platform, Mexico established the first international network to co-generate knowledge
through transdisciplinary research partnerships. We present the conceptual framework of this network highlighting 1) the socio-ecological system’s approach, 2) the
transdisciplinary scope of participatory research, 3) the intercultural action scheme,
and 4) the repercussions of this integrated approach on polycentric governance. This
book includes diverse examples of the application of this framework in DSES ranging from co-designing socio-ecological development projects, to adaptive management, and policy development.
Keywords RISZA · Transdisciplinary networks · Co-designed projects · Arid lands
· Participative research · South-South and triangular cooperation
Drylands are the largest biome complex on Planet Earth and home to over 40% of the
human population. Their extraordinary high biotic and cultural richness is endangered by global climate change, land use pressures including coastal/marine systems,
and environmental degradation. Understanding and maintaining the functional integrity of dryland socio-ecological systems (DSES) is fundamental for sustainable
development. It requires resilience-based dryland stewardship, where land users,
managers and decision-makers incorporate change, as understood from the multiple
actors’ perspective of a SES, into their planning and governance. The linkage of
America’s drylands with west Africa and Southern Europe is often overseen, however increasing economic activities in these DSES have enormous impacts on their
functional integrity. In response to this daunting task, academic and government
institutions founded the Agadir Platform as a coordinating instrument for cooperation in the Global South. As focal node of this platform, Mexico established the first
international network to co-generate knowledge through transdisciplinary research
partnerships. We present the conceptual framework of this network highlighting 1)
the socio-ecological system’s approach, 2) the transdisciplinary scope of participatory research, 3) the intercultural action scheme, and 4) the repercussions of this
integrated approach on polycentric governance. This book includes diverse examples
of the application of this framework in DSES ranging from co-designing socio-ecological development projects, to adaptive management, and policy development.
Aridity is often characterized by an aridity index (AI) (Thomas and Middleton
1992), calculated as annual precipitation divided by annual potential evapotranspiration, and ranges from a minimum of 0.05 to a maximum of 0.65 (Hulme 1996; Safriel
et al. 2005). Based on the AI drylands can be classified as hyperarid, arid, semi-arid,
and dry sub-humid (UNCCD 1994). In comparison to other biomes, life in the drylands
has evolved under highly variable precipitation, extreme water scarcity, pronounced
fluctuations in diurnal temperatures, and extended exposure to high levels of solar
radiation (Noy-Meir 1973). These factors continuously exert strong selection pressures
on specialized life forms (Whitford 2002). However, there is an exceptionally high species diversity across all categories of biota that contributes to varied ecosystems that
span from coastal drylands to intracontinental basins and highland plateaus.
E. Huber-Sannwald et al.