Landscape management strategies in response to climate risks in Indonesia
Ecosystems play an important role in strategies for facing climate change because they address both its causes and effects through the delivery of ecosystem services. Ecosystems act as safety nets for rural livelihoods and as buffers against damage s by supplying provisioning services (e.g., food and timber) and regulating services (e.g., water regulation and erosion control). In addition, carbon sequestration by ecosystems contributes to mitigate climate change. L and management affects ecosystem services in diverse ways and, because of trade-offs, can enhance the supply of one ecosystem service of interest at the expense of others. For example, the conversion of forests to agriculture to increase food production may degrade water regulation. Although trade-offs are recognized, knowledge on how changes in land management affect ecosystem services and their beneficiaries is still limited. This research aims to increase our understanding of how land management changes impact the resilience of local communities to climate hazards and the provision of ecosystem services at regional and global level. We combined multi-disciplinary and participatory methods to analyze changes in the management of forests and trees in the response s of local communities to climate hazards. Across four rural communities affected by floods and droughts in tropical forest landscapes in Indonesia, we inventoried forests, surveyed household s, discussed with focus groups, and analysed satellite images. To analyse how ecosystem services are affected by changes in land management, we developed a conceptual framework to account for the multiple human contributions in the delivery of ecosystem services. The findings showed how communities used ecosystem s in their response s to climatic impacts and how changes in land management affected the supply of ecosystem services. In the study sites with least forests, communities had the highest needs for forest ecosystem services to help them adapt to drought. Between 5 and 45% of the households reported at least one coping strategy based on products from forests and trees, for example harvesting timber or collecting leaves, rubber, and wild vegetables. Several anticipatory strategies at the community level aimed to protect or restore forests to reduce the impacts of droughts and floods on soil and water. Communities were not passive beneficiaries of ecosystem services but actively contribute d to their delivery in multiple ways. They managed land, mobilized human and human-made assets (e.g. skills, fertilizers), allocate d benefits, and appreciate d their contribution to well-being. Such actions determined who benefited from ecosystems and how. The human contributions in the delivery of ecosystem services depended on community rules (e.g. logging restrictions or taxes), assets (e.g. access to transportation or irrigation systems), values (e.g. perception of environmental degradation), and spatial factors (e.g., location of houses and crops in disaster prone areas). The land management strategies of local communities in response to climate hazards also affected the delivery of ecosystem services at regional and global scales, through changes in biodiversity, water regulation, and carbon sequestration. An improved understanding of human inputs and trade-offs in the delivery of ecosystem services can inform the design of sound ecosystem-based solutions for strengthening the resilience of local people to climate hazards while providing other global benefits for sustainable development.